THE COMPLEAT WRKS OF WLLM SHKSPR

Zanily re-interpreted Shakespearean characters make for laughs at Seabrooke’s. (Review by Viresh Prahalath)

Directed by Peter Court, The Compleat Wrks of Wllm Shkspr (Abridged) running at Seabrooke’s Theatre at DHS is a well-known, humorous parody of almost every play that Shakespeare has ever written, crammed into an energetic 97-minute show. It stars Marc Kay, Adam Doré and Clinton Small from the Actors Unemployed Company who each play a large variety of zanily re-interpreted Shakespearean characters as well as themselves.

The show is divided into two distinct halves, the first offering us a cascade of Shakespearean plays and references cleverly knitted together with commentary, audience participation as well as an entertaining dose of actor squabbling. The second half is dedicated to a chaotic and funny rendition of Hamlet with a few staged mishaps in between.

Without straying from the original format and plot of the world-famous show, much comedy is drawn from the reactions of the actors to the texts they are about to perform as well as their quirky interpretations of the characters they play. Small’s reluctance to play Hamlet because of its serious nature, which results in failed attempt to escape from the show, is very funny. So is Doré’s interpretation of Hamlets feigned madness, a hilarious, eccentric twitch undoubtedly capable of producing a serious neck injury!

With the absence of a fourth wall, the performers make direct reference to spectators and encourage audience participation both on and off stage. In the second half of the play, the entire audience is involved in an amusing recreation of the psyche of Ophelia during the famous “Get thee to a nunnery” scene from Hamlet.

The actors can be applauded for keeping an extremely high energy level throughout the performance, necessary for a piece this comprehensive and vociferous in nature. They laughed, whined, yelped and danced in a constant high spirits in attempts to keep us thoroughly entertained.

Costume choices in this play provide viewers with visually absurd interpretations of characters that are hilarious, especially that of the ‘alluring’ Cleopatra. The actors squabbling over their own choice of costume representations and props add an additional layer of comedy to the show. The wacky cooking show parody of Titus Andronicus incited waves of laughter from the audience with its excessive use of gore on stage.

The show can be most appreciated by Shakespeare buffs as references to his plays come out at lightning speed, which can be slightly perplexing to the layperson. Confusion peaks when 16 of his comedies are placed into one short piece delivered at high velocity though this is made up for in the amusing stage antics of the actors. Current pop-culture references worked very well to produce laughs and it would have been nice to see a little more of them added in.

Being a parody, the show works with gore and innuendos in a light-hearted fashion, this gives it a rating that barely reaches PG. Watch this show if you are a fan of the playwright, or just looking to experience a large dose of insanely wacky characterisations from known, local faces.

The Compleat Wrks of Wllm Shkspre (Abridged) runs at the Seabrooke’s Theatre at DHS until June 22 at 19h30. Additionally, there will be a matinee show on June 17 at 14h30. Tickets R75 (R50 students, pensioners and block bookings) at the door or booked through Seabrooke’s on 031 277 1570, or Marc on 072 435 8725. – Viresh Prahalath