The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) (revised) (again) | Sun and Wine Arts Company
A farcical take on Shakespeare that isn’t for the Shakespearean purists…
Produced by newly-formed Meanjin based Sun and Wine Arts Company, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) (revised) (again) is a silly and high energy drama that leaves you cacking with laughter in your seats. And out of your seats as you reminisce on the events of the evening while walking to your car.
Director Ben Kasper tackles this fast-paced work by constantly moving at a break-neck pace, throwing one visual gag after another, so even when one particular joke doesn’t land, there is likely one just around the corner that will bring the house down.
The Bard’s plays are performed by three actors— Lachlan McGeary, Aaron Whitney and Kira-Lea Cathcart who transition from role to role, play to play, with the degree of hilarity and pace that the text demands. Their comedic timing, physical comedy, improvisations and tense silences adds a new level of farce to this whimsical play.
The main critique of the work would be the writing needed to be tighter for a satire of Shakespeare’s works. Written by Adam Long, Daniel Singer, and Jess Winfield, the writing was at its peak strongest when the script denoted more than ten minutes to the retelling of the plays – like Romeo and Juliet in the first act and Hamlet in the second. However, whenever they condensed a whole bunch of plays into one, it just became a game of references and not an actual parody.
Despite this, the work still has stand out moments including the hamming up of the Scottish accents in Macbeth, the historical play football game and the three renditions of Hamlet in Act Two. The actors’ commitment to their bits was what made these moments shine.
Excited to see what work Sun and Wine Arts Company tackle next.
