Bruckmor Entertainment. The Garden of Unearthly Delights - Umbrella Revolution. 20 Feb 2015
'Shotspeare'? Ha, ha, ha! What could they possibly mean? So off I went, and hey, this is a whole new way to do Shakespeare, specifically, Romeo and Juliet. S'easy.
First, be greeted at the door by the actors merrily downing Coopers' Mr Tims (a brilliant discovery for these Americans, and rightly so). While seats were taken, some audience members were offered shots of vodka in plastic cups from huge sweating bottles. Then the actors announced that there is going to be a considerable amount of drinking during the show, and it would be a lot more fun if you drank, too; I wished I was forewarned as I foolishly showed up empty handed. Then three audience members (there should be a word for audience member, like audient) were given power to call out Shotspeare and the show has to stop and everybody on stage has a shot of vodka. There was also a wheel that was spun prior to a soliloquy and some shenanigans were undertaken, like spanking, or throwing socks at the actors, and more shots. A lucky audience member was chosen to help out with the small parts, and he was told, "Noooooo, you can't take your own beer up here, you have to chug it!" which he did, and was immediately fixed up with a fresh Dr Tims. Giant vodka bottles and Dr Tims were iced on stage and ready to go. To add to the confusion, there was a guy dressed as a knight complete with armour in the front row, but he had nothing to do with the show.
Oh, the show. Well, that was completely shambolic, as you might expect. Somewhere on stage were good actors who accomplished a one hour R &J - complete with ridiculous sword fights - filled to the gills. In sweat-soaked period costumes, they cavorted and yelled their way through the script with gleeful irreverence, but there were heaps of surprisingly (given the circumstances) performance bits that connected with me, and the silouetted sex scene was a real hoot.
I got caught up in the fun, I mean, it's a funny (weird) show, it's a concept that would normally not be remembered to have been thought of the night before on a bender - somebody must have been taking notes. So I kept thinking, "Why did they do it?" Does the booze excuse substandard performance? Does it unite the players and audience in Bacchanalian revelry? Is it a great way to make R & J an out-and-out comedy? Did it make Shakespeare accessible?
I walked out of the show, thinking, "Wow, that was pretty novel; I had a few yucks" and the day after, in the clear light of day without the buzz, I'm thinking, "What a load of crap." But if you want to experience the whole panoply of the Fringe experience, have a few Dr Tims with vodka chasers first.
David Grybowski
When: 13 Feb to 15 Mar
Where: The Garden of Unearthly Delights - Umbrella Revolution
Bookings: adelaidefringe.com.au
