What do you get when you blend the works of William Shakespeare, with an all singing and dancing musical extravaganza? You get the Elizabethan’s answer to Flight of the Conchords; it’s The Lost Musical Works of Willy Shakes.
There is no doubt that you will leave loving this show, exiting pursued by a bear.
In a time of plague and plays, The Lost Works Theatre Company bring us a a musical mash-up of the Bard’s best works; to impress King James and an Edinburgh Fringe audience. This tall retelling takes us straight to Will Shakes in the midst of his mid-life crisis. With the help of the underapreciated ‘fair youth’, Will embarks on a shake-up of his beloved plays in a bid to be remembered. From formidable villains to forgetful friars, every character has a new story to tell, with catchy numbers and finger-clicking.
With live music, accomplished vocals and comedic movement, this show wastes no time rallying the crowd. The raucous and lively atmosphere, made by modern-day groundlings transforms the shipping container into the pit of the globe. Shakespeare and the trusty fair youth dazzle the crowd with a range of numbers from up-tempo to ballad, with a few surprises in between.
Both Guy Hughes and Joe Leather display both and acting and musical prowess in spades; each with their own speciality. Hughes displays boundless musical talent, switching from keys to sax, with a little mandolin thrown in too. Whilst Leather gives us the cabaret edge with movement that was slick and silly, with great comic timing. Real prose is delicately woven into the structure of the show and with this, Hughes and Leather show us their talents in Shakespearian acting arena too.
This show stands out because of its relentless energy and an endless flow of talent. The Lost Works have produced an electric show which raps, sings and spins through over 348 years of history in just one hour. There is no doubt that you will leave loving this show, exiting pursued by a bear.
