“Dost thou desire to bendeth over and clutcheth thy tumtum in shrieks of laughter?
Then getteth thyself to Sh!t-faced Shakespeare immediately!”
Alana Kaye
5 Stars
The Roundhouse at The Garden of Unearthly Delights
21 Feb – 23 Mar
Adelaide Fringe Festival
Dost thou desire to bendeth over and clutcheth thy tumtum in shrieks of laughter?
Then getteth thyself to Sh!t-faced Shakespeare immediately!
Here’s the lowdown:
A troupe of incredibly talented, classically trained actors put all their hard earned skills to the test to bring the Bard to life… except one of them is completely, utterly rat-arsed. What could possibly go right?
I saw one of the earliest productions of Sh!t-faced Shakespeare in Edinburgh back in the day, and I also saw their version of Macbeth at last year’s Adelaide Fringe. Whichever masterpiece they’re performing, I know I’ll laugh until I cry.
This year, it’s Shakey’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. This play is already a bit bonkers, with magic, dream sequences, and fairies banging donkeys… So add copious amounts of alcohol into that and you’re got an instant, side-splittingly funny hit.
This is a masterclass in improv, and you can see just how quick these actors are on their feet. Their ability to pick up what someone else is putting down and run with it is phenomenal. Last night, Shakespeare’s forest in Athens became Fangorn Forest from Lord Of The Rings, Hermia was Gollum at one point, and “Freddo and all his friends” came on the journey too. This was all made even more hysterical because a drunken Stephanie Simpson as Hermia couldn’t remember the name Fangorn, even though she’d started the LOTR tangent in the first place.
Every show has an actor in the role of Compare, to introduce the concept to the audience and be our guide, of sorts. However, their main role is to try and keep the shitfaced one on track… they key word there being “try”. Last night, a sequined Charlie Keable was in this role, and although he nearly lost his trousers within seconds of being on stage (are you sure there’s only one drunk actor, team?) he delivered the Compare role with aplomb. He had his work cut out for him – Simpson was an absolute chaos queen.
The beauty of a show like this is that every single night will be different, depending on who’s been drinking for hours before getting on stage. There are a few returning performers from last year, but also some new faces, including Hamish Ings. Tomorrow night (Friday 28th Feb) will be his first EVER Sh!t-faced Shakespeare show!
This is an absolute riot from start to finish. No matter who’s shitfaced (maybe it’s YOU?) you’re in for a wild ride, and you might even see some Shakespeare.
See the damn show, I beseech thee!
Alana Kaye, Theatre Now
