Reviews 2013
Reviews 2013
✭✭✭✩✩
by Alexandra Watt, directed by Adam Bailey
Charlatan Remedies, Toronto Fringe Festival, Magpie Taproom, 831 Dundas St. West, Toronto
July 3-14, 2013
The Magpie Taproom doubles as the tavern where Shakespeare and his best-known characters hang out. The story focuses so much on the breakup of Romeo (Zachary Knowles) and Juliet (Alexandra Simpson) that it doesn't fully integrate Hamlet Andrew Petker) , King Lear (Peter Higginson) or the Bard himself (Chris Isaak) into the fairly haphazard plot that, for no particular reason, requires Hamlet, Lear and Romeo to disguise themselves as women.
Much of the text’s humour comes from the formality of author Alexandra Watt’s use of rhyming couplets versus the contemporary jargon and off-colour references she imbeds in them. The show, however, should be regarded less as a play than as an interactive Shakespearean-themed event where the performers deploy a wide array of game-playing techniques to involve audience members in the action.
The cast, enthusiastic but uneven, aims not to embarrass audience members but to offer them a new way to have fun. If you've ever wanted to play Juliet's new boyfriend or Romeo's new squeeze, here's your chance.
©Christopher Hoile
Note: A version of this review appeared in NOW Magazine 2013-07-11.
Photo: (front row) Alexandra Simpson as Juliet, Zachary Knowles as Romeo and Andrew Petker as Hamlet; (back row) Emma Farrante as Nurse, Peter Higginson as King Lear, Joella Citchen as Witch One, Charlotte Cattell as Witch Two and Rebecca Liddiard as Witch Three. ©2013 Oscar Moreno.
For tickets, visit http://fringetoronto.com.
2013-07-11
Surviving Speares