Jazzed-up Shakespeare with audience participation, better jokes, a drag queen, and great original music to boot. What is not to like?
29 March 2022
Shakespeare is ever forgiving of new interpretation. After all, the original source material is not going away. And the dreamy, mystical, magical, illusionary Tempest, one of the Bard’s last, is perfect for gig theatre-style experimental reimagining.
James Meteyard’s gig production, ideally hosted in the industrial space of the Pleasance Theatre’s Main house, mashes up music, cabaret-style ensemble acting, some great stand-up interactions, and costumes that put me in mind of Mad Max on molly.
Trinculo, the king’s jester, played in truly scary drag, stands out as a performance. Ariel sings, acts, and does an amazing cirque-du-soleil-style performance suspended from the ceiling. Ferdinand combines a strong vocals with great keyboard and guitar skills. But what really impresses is the depth of talent in the entire cast. There may not be any acting awards coming their way, but the cast as a whole had great comic timing and were never less than wholly engaged.
The original songs were great, particularly a touching duet between Ferdinand and Miranda. ‘Bam Bam Calaban’ sounds like an 80s Nordic Eurovision entry (in a good way) and reverberated in my mind for the entire tube journey home.
Criticism? Yes, there are times when the story gets a little lost in the sheer frenzy of the mix. But the pace is so fast that it is easy to find your way back in. The sound was a bit iffy, which made it difficult to pick up lines from time to time, but not enough so to spoil a thoroughly enjoyable evening.
Oh, and finally, it is always helpful to have the dick jokes In Shakespeare spelt out. That’s just another of the many qualities this robustly fun and engaging take on The Tempest exhibits.
Duration: 2 hours 25 mins. One interval.
Cast
Alexander Bean
Tashinga Bepete
Ruby Crepin-Glynne
Eleanor House
Kate Littlewood
Rob Meteyard
Loren O’Dair
Ben Simon
Gigi Zahir
Creative Team
Adapted & Directed by James Meteyard
Full Disclosure: Ticket from Central Tickets.
