Tag Archives: Hal Hillman

Sh!t-Faced Showtime: A Pissedmas Carol

★★★★★

Leicester Square Theatre

A Pissedmas Carol

Sh!t-Faced Showtime: A Pissedmas Carol

Leicester Square Theatre

Reviewed – 28th November 2019

★★★★★

 

“bountiful instances of quick-witted, gleeful silliness”

 

Audiences are a voyeuristic bunch – from found-footage horror films to The Play That Goes Wrong, there is a proven appetite for watching things where what’s being shown feels like it shouldn’t be seen. So it’s no surprise that Magnificent Bastard Productions have struck gold with their format in which they get one of their actors drunk and have to roll with whatever punches they throw during the show. They’ve found success with both Sh*t-Faced Shakespeare and Sh*t-Faced Showtime previously, and that can now be counted as a triumvirate of triumphs with their new festive show, A Pissedmas Carol.

A Pissedmas Carol follows the plot of Charles Dickens’ classic A Christmas Carol with a cast of five and a script by Lewis Ironside. Or it intends to follow the plot, anyway, although the actor who’d got through two beers, a shot of vegan Baileys, and two thirds of a bottle of Captain Morgans over the course of four hours preceding the show lobbed most of the script out the window. The rules set out by the show’s MC (who incidentally, was Charles Dickens – played with adorable joviality by Will Seaward) dictate that whatever that actor chooses to do, the others must improvise around it. With a group of exceptional improvisers such as this, such a format leads to boundless hilarity. Once this performance’s drunk actor Daniel Quirke chooses to lick a castmate’s nose as a greeting, it becomes a running gag throughout the show, and when Quirke changes the ending of the story on the fly by putting Scrooge in a coma for forty years, the change is embraced fully by the other actors. The fundamental rule of improv – always say yes – is taken very seriously, which results in bountiful instances of quick-witted, gleeful silliness.

The improv and alcohol-heavy nature of the show could very easily lead to wearisome indulgence in the performances, but thankfully there is a keen awareness from the cast, as well as clear measures to ensure the experience is always firmly centred around audience enjoyment – the MC will sometimes usher things along, or Charlotte Brooke’s piano accompaniment will lead the scenes forward. The audience are also invited to deepen the chaos, as select members are able to put another drink in the inebriated actor’s hand when they so wish. By the end of the show, Quirke had got through a further three beers, which kept the voyeuristic excitement ramping up.

As mentioned, the performances are roundly excellent, and the fun that these actors are clearly having on stage with each other permeates through to the audience. They capitalise on every unexpected comic opportunity, with James Murfitt as Scrooge and Katy Baker (who also directed) as the Ghost of Christmas Past standing out in a scene where – thanks to Quirke’s machinations – their rendition of ‘Walking in the Air’ as they flew to the past brought on reams of laughter. That’s not the only song either – A Pissedmas Carol features a host of Christmas classics, all fantastically sung, from Issy Wroe-Wright’s scene-stealing ‘Last Christmas’ to the gorgeous harmonies in ‘Fairytale of New York’.

A Pissedmas Carol has carved out a format that sets it apart from any other Christmas show, yet also puts it head and shoulders above them. Forget panto – this is the most fun you’re going to have in a theatre this festive season.

 

Reviewed by Ethan Doyle

Photography by Rah Petherbridge

 


Sh!t-Faced Showtime: A Pissedmas Carol

Leicester Square Theatre until 5th January

 

Previously reviewed at this venue:
Murder, She Didn’t Write | ★★★ | February 2018
Sh!t-faced Shakespeare: The Merchant of Venice | ★★★★ | April 2018
Sh!t-faced Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet | ★★★★ | June 2018
Murder She Didn’t Write | ★★★★ | September 2018
Sh!t-faced Showtime: Oliver With a Twist! | ★★★ | September 2018
Stick Man | ★★★½ | October 2018
Sh!t-Faced Showtime: Oliver With A Twist | ★★ | March 2019
Sh!t-Faced Shakespeare: The Taming Of The Shrew | ★★★★★ | April 2019
Sh!t-Faced Shakespeare: Hamlet | ★★★ | June 2019

 

Click here to see our most recent reviews

 

Sh*t-faced Showtime: Oliver With a Twist!
★★

Leicester Square Theatre

Sh*t-faced Showtime: Oliver With a Twist!

Sh*t-faced Showtime: Oliver With a Twist!

Leicester Square Theatre

Reviewed – 29th March 2019

★★

 

“the show feels very artificial and flat”

 

If you’re not familiar with Magnificent Bastard Productions’ Shit-Faced Showtime, the concept is simple: The company parodies a classic musical, and one cast member gets drunk before the show. They rotate which performer will be inebriated each night, and you don’t know ahead of time which character will be ‘shitfaced’.

The press night performance of Oliver with a Twist featured Oliver, played by Issy Wroe Wright, as an allegedly smashed orphan. However, while Wright may have had several drinks over the course of several hours prior to the performance (as the programme explains), it was obvious she was not drunk, let alone ‘shitfaced’. Whether due to health and safety laws, or the company not wanting to accept risk, the reality is a barely-tipsy performer acting drunk.

Unfortunately, Wright’s impression of being wasted is largely unconvincing. Her occasional missteps feel contrived, and a lot of her movement is obviously choreographed. What’s meant to be spontaneous comedy from ‘alcohol-inspired’ lines is either scripted, or improv that has nothing to do with being drunk. Oliver asks Dodger if they’re going to stay in an Airbnb, and if Mr Brownlow has done one of those internet DNA tests. The lines aren’t particularly funny, and it’s unclear how to interpret them. Are we meant to believe Wright is so hammered she doesn’t know she’s in a play?

Writer/director Katy Baker, who plays the MC, makes a big deal in her introductory speech about how the already ‘sloshed’ actor will have to drink during the performance. Two audience members are given instruments to play (once each) to signal Wright to drink. However, when the instruments are played, Baker pours beer into a pint glass, nowhere-near full, and Wright takes one (exactly one) tiny sip. Audience members who notice Wright isn’t drinking yell for her to do so. Wright gives a snarky response that she’s “going to drink it,” and then never does. She eventually disappears off stage and comes back empty-handed. Her second drink doesn’t go near her mouth, and is finally neglected on the stage. It’s baffling why this is part of the show. If the actor doesn’t drink, the gimmick only serves to remind the audience how fake the whole thing is.

The play’s comedy is built around the concept that a cast member is drunk. But because Wright is not drunk, and not very good at pretending to be, the show feels very artificial and flat. I’ve seen drunk theatre before, real drunk theatre, which is uproarious and wild. This is a highly produced, sterilised version. Its ‘West-End’ nature perhaps requires it to be that way, but the question then is why do it? The false advertising rankles. The audience are not children who don’t notice the actor flagrantly not-drinking in front of us. The play is much stronger when it is genuine parody: Bill Sikes (Hal Hillman) with his dog, and Nick Moore’s multi-roling. Pub theatres are the natural habitat of drunk performances; Shit-Faced Showtime proves they’re best left there.

 

Reviewed by Addison Waite

Photography by Rah Petherbridge

 


Sh*t-faced Showtime: Oliver With a Twist!

Leicester Square Theatre until 12th April

 

Last ten shows covered by this reviewer:
Timpson: The Musical | ★★★ | King’s Head Theatre | February 2019
We’ve Got Each Other | ★★★½ | The Vaults | February 2019
Without That Certain Thing | ★★★ | Network Theatre | February 2019
Alcatraz | ★★★ | The Vaults | March 2019
Anna X | ★★★★ | The Vaults | March 2019
Essex Girl | ★★★★ | The Vaults | March 2019
Feed | ★★★★ | The Vaults | March 2019
Mary’s Babies | ★★★ | Jermyn Street Theatre | March 2019
Six | ★★★★★ | Arts Theatre | March 2019
Vulvarine | ★★★★★ | The Vaults | March 2019

 

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