The near-sacred text of the Bard’s full output is whittled down, boiled away and served up as party fare in this chaotic and slightly confounding offering.
A cast of just three not only present the action but act as presenters too. The three performers – John Harrison, Connor Bailey and Ben Wellicome – certainly put the work in.
The start may be a trifle ponderous but once full speed is reached there’s no letting up. Costume and character changes pass in a flash and the resultant mayhem means there’s rarely a dull moment.
James Harris’s design and direction keep the pace full-on and there’s an unashamed showiness to the whole thing.
The script has its roots in 1980s improvisational comedy on the California college circuit and has remained essentially undergraduate since. The version here has been given a sprinkling of updates, references to Trump, Musk and T Mobile among others. Sadly the American accents have not undergone an upgrade.
Amid the chaos there are some neat set pieces. Titus Andronicus as a gruesome cookery show works well; Othello as a stereotyped and slightly off-colour rap less so.
Those expecting (perhaps unwisely) a stream of word-to-the-wise in-jokes for Shakespeare aficionados will be disappointed. This level of reduction means it’s barest common denominator only – the histories provide a brief sketch of American Football and Macbeth is cod Scottish accents not much else.
There’s plenty of audience participation with abundant asides and a lengthy pantomime-like section centring on Ophelia’s mental state complete with people dragged onto the stage while the whole audience is encouraged to join in. Those taking part get stickers, if the intended level of comedy needed further underlining.
Shakespeare’s plays have suffered many indignities down the centuries and some of the more serious remakes over at Stratford have piled more disrespect on the originals than this whacky, irreverent but ultimately celebratory confection.
The sheer unstoppable energy means there’s plenty of occasion for laughter but, in truth, that’s more down to the relentlessness of the performances that the quality of the material.
Visit talismantheatre.co.uk for further details.
