SH!T-FACED A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM at Leicester Square Theatre
★★★★
“With the actors all multi-rolling throughout the run, each performance feels fresh – packed with improv and lightning quick reactions”
Sh!tfaced Shakespeare is, by now, a well-known commodity. This year marks their eleventh year at Edinburgh Fringe, their fourteenth year as a company and firms them as a staple of the Leicester Square Theatre. I’ve been to several of these shows and they’re always a riot. It’s silly and hyper-sexualised and sometimes barely Shakespeare but it’s always a great night out.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream works well paired with chaotic drunken energy and lustful thrusting. It’s what the Bard would’ve wanted.
The concept is simple. It’s a straight(ish) Shakespeare play, but one actor is very drunk. Chaos and hilarity ensues.
It doesn’t rely entirely on the gimmick. There were laughs beyond the drunken actor, with quick improv and some clever word play in the scripted moments. Though obviously the most fun is had with the person who’s ‘sh!tfaced’.
What stops these shows from being unbearably cringey is the chemistry between the performers. There’s real love there, and this felt particularly true for this performance. Beth Louise Priestly was drunk, and consistently slipped into using the actors’ real names, usually to say how much she loved them. They feel like a group of loving pals, whom it’s fun to watch have fun. They’re also all very funny.
With the actors all multi-rolling throughout the run, each performance feels fresh – packed with improv and lightning quick reactions. Julia Bird doesn’t lean too much into the pixie realm as Puck, she is full of laddish energy and bawdy one-liners. Stacey Norris is a hilariously tragic Helena and James Murfitt is a gloriously mischievous Oberon. Charlie Keable can barely keep a straight face as he whips out pun after pun and Eugene Evans plays a delightfully strait-laced Demetrius with an impressive codpiece. Natalie Boakye holds it all together as a joyous and energetic compare – who still manages to have an eye out for health and safety (and the run time).
With a show that’s different every night, packed full of ridiculous over the top fun, you could go to this every night and not get bored.
SH!T-FACED A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM at Leicester Square Theatre
Reviewed on 18th July 2024
by Auriol Reddaway
Photography by Andrew AB Photography
Previously reviewed at this venue:
RACHEL PARRIS: POISE | ★★★★ | June 2024
SH!T-FACED SHOWTIME: A PISSEDMAS CAROL | ★★★★★ | November 2023
THE AYES HAVE IT! THE AYES HAVE IT! | ★★★★ | November 2023
SH!T-FACED SHAKESPEARE®: MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING | ★★★★★ | July 2023
SHIT-FACED SHAKESPEARE: ROMEO & JULIET | ★★★★ | July 2022
A PISSEDMAS CAROL | ★★★★★ | December 2021
SH!T-FACED MACBETH | ★★★★★ | July 2021
SH!T-FACED
SH!T-FACED
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