An entirely serious Shakespeare play...with an entirely shit-faced actor.

By E.L.Hardy

The blurb for Sh*t-Faced Shakespeare may be stretching the truth a little by claiming to be 'entirely serious', but there are no half measures when it comes to the inebriation. Magnificent Bastards return to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival this year with a 60 minute rendition of The Two Gentlemen of Verona delivered, to its advantage, with tongue firmly in cheek. The six actors, in traditional dress and well versed in verse, set out with the intention to tell the story but face the challenge of improvising around one completely trashed actor with the liberty to do anything they like (within reason of course - no sex, assault or using the C word).

And the result is raucous. Our drunk becomes the hero of the play, the audience celebrating each time they stumble onto stage. Fortunately, the rest of the cast don't take themselves too seriously either, wrapping themselves up in rope ladders and enlisting audience participation to ensure that we are kept in fits between the wine-sot's unpredictable appearances. The theatrical experiment is carefully controlled; the show compere contributes to the arena atmosphere whist keeping a close eye on the drunk. Knowing everyone is in safe hands makes the over all experience a lot more enjoyable; I could relax knowing that the cast were being well looked after.

I'll certainly be going back to Sh*t-Faced Shakespeare later in the festival; with a seven day rotation, it will be completely different next time - with a different tiddled performer and new curveballs to challenge the cast's coherent rendering of the plot.

PS in short: A fringe must see. Not for stubborn purists or those lacking the strength to laugh continuously for 60 minutes. ★★★★ 4 stars #unboring

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