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Shit-faced Showtime: Oliver With a Twist! -3 Stars

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Oliver

Shit-faced Showtime: Oliver With a Twist!

Leicester Square Theatre

Reviewed – 5th September 2018

★★★

“an excellent format for a boozy night out with friends”

 

Continuing their now regular slot at the Leicester Square theatre, the Sh*t-Faced Showstoppers have swapped the boozy bard for drunken Dickens. If you haven’t heard of this now notorious troupe, five actors take to the stage to perform a classical theatre piece. The only catch is that one of them is very drunk. The group are most well-known for their take on Shakespeare classics; however this version of the Dickens musical drew just as big a crowd as most of their shows.

As you can imagine, or may well know, these shows are loose and riotous. The theatre itself has four bars, and it took fifteen minutes after the scheduled start time for the audience to move from the bar into their seats. The tacky set design with window etchings such as ‘Dickolas Dickleby woz ere’ further indicated what the audience were to expect. Indeed, what this group have created is an excellent format for a boozy night out with friends. The atmosphere in the room before the show was excitable, and the audience were free to shout and get involved. I was seated with beer in hand ready for whatever carnage may unfold.

The general consensus in the room was that most people enjoyed it, which was clear from the general hysteria in the room. Sadly, for me, I rather felt like the only sober person at a party full of jolly and drunk acquaintances. The drunken actor, playing Oliver Twist, slurred plenty of lines and went off on ludicrous tangents, speaking to the audience about subjects that had nothing to do with the play. It was a controlled mess which most people loved, however I felt rather short changed. Aside from the one inebriated actor, there wasn’t much to enjoy. The show appeared to be framed in a way that tailored best to the drunken actor, with short and simplified scenes that had plenty of room to allow them to be as silly as they want. Perhaps if it was the other way round, and the actor had to navigate themselves through a very tight-knit and nuanced show, I would have found it more entertaining.

The company has a unique premise, and indeed a crop of great talent. Their format has already achieved great success and looks as if it will continue to do so. If you are someone looking for a funny night out with friends, maybe a cultural pit-stop before a big night out, get yourself a ticket. If you are a theatre fan looking a comedic spin on some of your favourite shows, and you decide to go, maybe have a few drinks before.

 

Reviewed by Edward Martin

Photography by Rah Petherbridge

 


Shit-faced Showtime: Oliver With a Twist!

Leicester Square Theatre until 9th September

 

Related
Sh*t-faced Shakespeare reviews
The Merchant of Venice | ★★★★ | April 2018
Romeo and Juliet | ★★★★ | June 2018

 

Click here to see more of our latest reviews on thespyinthestalls.com

 

 

Shit-faced Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet – 4 Stars

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Juliet

Shit-faced Shakespeare:

Romeo and Juliet

Leicester Square Theatre

Reviewed – 21st June 2018

★★★★

“a fun, accessible and irreverent approach to Shakespeare”

 

I’m sure you know the story of Romeo and Juliet, two star crossed lovers whose story ends in tragedy. Well this is that, with a difference. Tonight’s show is set in “fair East London” and performed by five classically trained actors, one of whom’s sh!tfaced drunk. Our compere opens the show with some audience participation, including choosing someone in the front row to hold a large bucket, just in case.

Cleverly, we do not know which actor is going to be drunk, so the play’s opening begins as a guessing game, as the audience tries to identify who it’s going to be. It is made more obvious when a drunken Juliet stumbles onto stage, struggling through a pink and purple velvet curtain to make her entrance. Meet Juliet, as you have never seen her before: she drinks beer, cartwheels and definitely shouldn’t be given a knife. This is a fun, accessible and irreverent approach to Shakespeare.

A bit more of an emphasis on the actual Shakespearean text would’ve helped, something which seems to deteriorate over the course of the play. Juliet, played tonight by Beth-Louise Priestley, drunk as she is, seems to actually be getting more of her lines out than the rest of the cast. At moments, it feels like the sober actors are trying to match Juliet’s state and consequent performance. Playing these roles more genuinely would highlight the gap between the reverence usually used when discussing the works of Shakespeare and the irreverence of this addition to the play. It would also make Juliet’s drunkenness even funnier, by virtue of contrast.

I really like that the humour does not revolve solely around one actor’s inebriety, and some of the strongest moments are when characters find scope for humour in Shakespeare’s language, laced with innuendo. The production demonstrates much of this through the wonderful use of visual comedy, including moments that feel fantastically slapstick. This is where the humour for the other actors lies, it’s already in the Shakespearean text, and does not, therefore, need to be found in uncommitted overacting. This is a shortened version of the play, but the pace at points feels overly rushed, particularly in the second half, and again a more competent approach to the play itself would ensure that the drunken performance can shine in a strong framework of support.

Ultimately though, this is theatre and a night out in one, hilarious, clever and Shakespeare like you’ve never seen it before.

 

Reviewed by Amelia Brown

Photography by Al Overdrive

 


Shit-faced Shakespeare:

Romeo and Juliet

Leicester Square Theatre until 1st September

 

Related
Previous Shit-faced production
Shit-faced Shakespeare: The Merchant of Venice | ★★★★ | Leicester Square Theatre | April 2018

 

Click here to see more of our latest reviews on thespyinthestalls.com