Adelaide Fringe. Holden Street Theatres. 22 Feb 2014
The concept for this show is perfect; compress one of Shakespeare’s texts into 30 minutes by keeping all of the important pieces of dialogue and introducing a narrator to fill in the gaps. The show, presented by Recycled Theatre Company, sees the troupe of 4 players mix humour, slapstick, jokes and modern references into their performance. Retelling some of Shakespeare’s most popular tales such as Romeo and Juliet and a Midsummer Night’s Dream, todays performance was Hamlet.
Returning for the 2014 Adelaide Fringe after a reported sell out season during 2013, I expected the show to be a little better rehearsed. Unfortunately the narrator of the story read everything from page after page of scripted notes – and not always very clearly. His unfamiliarity with the prepared text made it difficult for the audience to understand; like having a book read to you, it was too hard to keep up with what was being read.
The playful and occasionally adlib jokes were a highlight, as were the characterisations and interpretation of Shakespeare’s texts by those in the character roles. The whole production had loads of potential and a bit of direction could have tightened the final result to create a great piece of theatre.
Probably not for children of ‘all’ ages, but great for youngsters with an appreciation for theatre and an open mind.
Paul Rodda
When: Closed
Where: Holden Street Theatres
Bookings: Closed
