With the curtain going up at 10am, Shakespeare for Breakfast is certainly one for the early birds, but is full of all the right ingredients to wake you up, cure a bad hangover and keep hunger locked up until lunch (croissants and coffee are provided). It may have been running for 18 years, but C Theatres production has lost none of its charm and is still full of fresh and inventive ideas.Based loosely around A Midsummer Nights Dream, Demetrius is reinvented as an arrogant, slick city banker, Lysander a fluttering Nancy Boy and Helena an intriguing cross between a Barbie doll and Madonna! On the whole, it really works and whilst there were certainly times when the attempts at audience interaction hit the wrong note - there is one bizarre scene in which Latisha Dean (the fairy queen!) has an embarrassing rant whilst trying to draw several members of the front row into the show, which was greeted by a stone-like silence - the mischievous and enthralling Puck succeeds where he fails and ensures that the audience become very definitely a part of the ride. References to Britains Got Talent, Michael Jackson, The Apprentice and possibly the best Penelope Cruz impression ever, also give the production a very current edge and the hour flies by before you have a chance to wonder whether the roof will fly off if the actors send it up anymore.It is no mean feat to have an audience of more than 60 for your first performance on the Fringe this summer, and such a diverse crowd of people at that the ages seemed to range from 7 to 70. It may not be the classiest production around, or the one shrouded with the most emotional depth, but Shakespeare for Breakfast has something for everyone. If youre up for some slapstick comedy, souped up innuendo or are just in need of a morning wake-up, this is not to be missed.
