A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Sh!t-faced Shakespeare Review

Photo by Andrew AB Photography.

Written by Cathie for Theatre and Tonic.

Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in return for an honest review. All opinions are our own.

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This turbulent summer Sh!t-faced Shakespeare have returned to London as their next stop on their 14 year pub crawl to inhabit the Leicester Square Theatre. It’s a fairly predictable formula  in that you always know chaos will ensue.

The show’s premise is simple: five classically trained actors and a narrator/ drunk wrangler try to perform A Midsummers Night’s Dream. However there is a twist, one cast member is rip-roaringly and utterly ‘Sh!tfaced’. Our narrator was a elfin Puck who explained the rules spritely and with a cheeky air and tools and a bucket are given to audience members to help the drunk performer either get further drunk or in case of the alcohol returning too quickly. We see them frolicking in the forests of Athens (3 trees spaced around) but we are spared the midsummer mechanicals terrible subplot. You can spot the drunk with his instant gyrations and spinning as he makes his entrance. In this show Lysander was the drunk and caused plenty of very musical confusion in his drunken take on the character. There are plenty of puns, split trousers and some very mischievous improv. The cast have a genuine camaraderie and sweet charm together but can’t always bring the play off track enough to ensure proper drunken antics. 

This particular play, with its literal drunken revelry and drug induced chaos would be considered an easy no brainer for the Shit faced brand. Yet there was an ineffable lack in this play compared to my experience at Christmas. The drunk seemed rather too sober for my liking in the first act and the jokes seemed rather over exaggerated and controversial even for a drunken show. Every time I’ve seen it they break their own rules with impunity. However the theatre had a very quiet audience in my viewing which might have affected the atmosphere. A weekend show might have a more energetic crowd which can participate in the banter and audience call and response better. 

This show at 2 hours including the interval is a much shorter and beer soaked introduction to Shakespeare which attempts to keep the charm of the Bard whilst imbuing it with modern chaotic impulses. It is definitely a show which avoids categorising or labelling. The beauty of this kind of show is that every night will be completely different as each night a different actor is drunk. You never know what will happen next. If you enjoy a good pub session and the frivolity of Shakespeare mixed with revelry then I recommend this show to you. 

At Leicester Square Theatre until 7 September.

☆ ☆ ☆