Wakey wakey, eggs and Shakey!
A joy to watch!
Or rather, a free croissant with Shakespeare. Although I am indeed a great fan of the Bard, I must admit it was the promise of a free croissant that pulled me out of bed this morning.
It’s a clever idea which worked wonders, as the auditorium was packed! I was greeted by friendly faces offering one croissant (a brioche-style, came-in-a-plastic-bag affair) and a polystyrene cup of tea or coffee, which you are to eat and drink from your lap in traditional tiered seating. It wasn’t a problem for me, but be warned in case you bring lots of bags or coats over your arms as this may prove quite the juggle.
While everyone found a seat, we were greeted and chatted up by the four performers, which was a nice way to break the ice, fostering a relaxed atmosphere, but it did pose a slight problem with getting absorbed by the actual story for the first several minutes. This was only a small issue, however, as I did find the rest of it absorbing.
The performance space was big and empty, yet well coloured-in by the energetic young cast. The show was A Midsummer Night’s Dream, blended cheekily with elements of a Love Island-esque reality show. I recognised many quotes from the original interspersed with mischievous new material, making an already-funny play even funnier.
The new writing was excellent, even rhyming with Shakespeare’s text and providing great gags for a modern audience. The actors were clearly very well-rehearsed as the whole piece was slick in motion, and there was no fear in their eyes. The fun they were clearly having on stage was infectious!
The portrayal of Puck was an odd choice for me. He was a glowing nightlight held out from the wings while a recording of a gruff Scotsman delivered his lines. The dialogue, on paper, was sparkling, but the voice was not. It sounded like someone got a non-actor to ‘have a go’ and just read the lines. Certainly the plainest Puck I’ve ever seen. However, the blunt delivery did work to its favour at times, offering a different energy-level to the bright young things on stage, and gave it an understated comic timing.
One more small gripe I had was all the different regional accents put on by the multi-rolling actors, which seemed to take the place of characterisation at times. Nevertheless, this was very forgivable as the cast really seemed to be giving their all for a potentially tired and cranky audience, and they won me over in the end.
I can certainly recommend this show to anyone old or young, Shakespeare aficionado or not. The laughs came strong and fast and it was a joy to watch. Every joke landed, and went down very well with my morning coffee.
