Comedy: Bottom’s up!

What happens when that fringe feeling overflows on stage as well as off

Acouple of years ago someone I respect a great deal pitched me a show which sounded – on paper – like it had all the makings of a car-crash performance. They told me about an company that performed a play from Shakespeare’s canon, in an hour, with a cast of only five – so far so Fringe – but one of the players would be utterly hammered for the entire show. It was one of the best shows I saw all year.

As much as it sounds like a wreck of a concept, Shit-Faced Shakespeare really works. It manifests as a performance that The Bard himself would have loved – filled with the debauchery and enthusiasm of the early theatres that caused actors to be seen as such disreputable and attractive creatures. It brings vim and vigor to Shakespeare, and makes you laugh like an unself-conscious hyena at the comedy. And you don’t even need to be familiar with the text beforehand.

I know, I promise much, but here’s the skinny: the players take it on rotation as to who is drunk. Before the show starts the audience is shown the empties as testimony as to the capacity of alcohol has been imbibed earlier in the day. And it is the tension between the remaining actors, steadfastly trying to keep the show on track, and the now ‘wild card’ performer that is so compelling. And wildly entertaining. And intoxicating. I hasten to add that you don’t need to drink as an audience member in order to fully enjoy the show. The roustabout atmosphere is enough, and this is not all about embarking on a bacchanalian adventure. The ‘Shit-Faced’ and the ‘Shakespeare’ are in equal measure, drawing the audience in, fully involving them as we grab moments of stolen calm between raucous laughter. I’ve seen Shakespeare in many different venues, from The Regents Park Open Air Theatre to a pokey room in Edinburgh and many other places inbetween. This truly is the most immersive way to experience it. The text is a doddle. And the comedy really is comedy.

This year the play is ‘Two Gentlemen Of Verona’, and I am utterly unfamiliar with it. I’m tempted to cram a synopsis of the play beforehand from a wiki page, as I might do if I was seeing it straight. I’m more tempted not to though. Such fun!
Shit-Faced Shakespeare, The Warren: Main House, 22–30 May, £14-10 (group concessions available) www.brightonfringe.org