Princess Donnough Archives - thespyinthestalls.com

★★★★

“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.

A Scandal in Bohemia!

Tristan Bates Theatre

Reviewed – 28th October 2019

★★★

“It shines at times, but is crying out for editorial cuts”

In my opinion, The Simpsons is arguably the most timeless and successful cartoon ever to grace television. Why? Because it appeals both to kids and adults alike, without compromise for either audience. In this sense, writer and director Francesca De Sica’s all-female, pop-up theatre retelling of the Sherlock Holmes short story appears to strive for the same effect, with a play that has lots of wackiness and slapstick gags for kids, but also a detailed plot and the odd joke only adults will get.

The text is pretty faithful to the original story – the language feels more or less the same although there is lots of ad-libbing. We follow Holmes (Elizabeth Appleby) and Watson (Francesca De Sica) as they are tasked with retrieving a sensitive photograph from actress Irene Adler (Princess Donnough) and returning it to their client, The King of Bohemia (Laura-Jean Richardson). Side characters are multi-roled by the five-piece cast – Katharine Blackshaw (as Mrs Hudson and other roles) gives the most memorable performance by far, making each of her characters stand out but through subtlety rather than playing for laughs as some of the other actors do.

The atmosphere of A Scandal In Bohemia is friendly and upbeat from the moment we walk in – each guest is offered a drink and a snack whilst the characters natter away, interacting fabulously with everyone. At the end, a few audience members are brought onstage and Sherlock tries to guess their occupation, which goes down extremely well with any kids watching. It’s a show that feels refreshingly collaborative. The world of the play also very much comes alive through the show’s design – despite having a pop-up set it is detailed and utilises the whole space, whilst the costumes are appropriate for the period yet eye-catching and colourful. Hand and shadow puppets are both involved also, albeit briefly – the shadow puppets are particularly charming and perhaps could be made more of.

This all takes over from the actual story, which seems like an afterthought. Many of the scenes feel too long and wordy, which is enough to make adults switch off, let alone kids. For those who are trying to follow what’s going on, this isn’t helped by the ceaseless ad-libbing or the random, vague movements that for some reason De Sica has included alongside important plot points. Unfortunately, A Scandal In Bohemia also seems to miss the mark in its quest to replicate ‘The Simpsons Complex’ and create something which appeals to audiences of all ages. The jokes are a little too childish and the acting a little too hammy for an adult audience, and the gags that clearly are there for adults are somewhat shoehorned in – the worst offender being a bit with Holmes and Watson openly snorting cocaine. Is that really something we want to show an audience of schoolchildren? The attempts to tell the story in a ‘fun’ way sometimes fall short also, for example the crime scene analysis/boxing match which somehow manages to be both confusing and unengaging, and the Punch & Judy show which seeks to fight the patriarchy, but seems completely out of place here.

It’s a shame because as a kids’ show, A Scandal in Bohemia has potential to be hugely entertaining if the text were simplified and the disjointed ‘jokes for the parents’ were got rid of. It shines at times, but is crying out for editorial cuts.

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!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:

SH!T-FACED

SH!T-FACED

Tristan Bates Theatre

Reviewed – 28th October 2019

★★★

“It shines at times, but is crying out for editorial cuts”

It’s a shame because as a kids’ show, A Scandal in Bohemia has potential to be hugely entertaining if the text were simplified and the disjointed ‘jokes for the parents’ were got rid of. It shines at times, but is crying out for editorial cuts.

Reviewed by Sebastian Porter

Photography by Paul White

A Scandal in Bohemia!

Tristan Bates Theatre until 2nd November

Last ten shows reviewed at this venue: