Leicester Square Theatre, London – until 11 September 2021
Reviewed by Emily Cliff
5*****
If you are looking for an entirely serious dramatic performance of one of the greatest tragedies of all time, you may be in the wrong place. Some of the best memories you can ever make are usually surrounded with friends and loved ones and nine times out of ten washed down with a whole load of alcohol. Remember that. Now flip it on its head, when you go to the theatre it’s a lovely experience, right? You go out with friends or family, you have a few drinks and you enjoy the show. But what if one member of the cast in the show you were seeing was absolutely, singing, dancing on the tables and laughing with strangers kind of drunk? It’s hard to picture but here at Sh!t Faced Shakespeare it’s the norm. Four hours before every production one member of the cast is chosen, by random, to get absolutely black out drunk.
The great tragedy of Macbeth is a classic piece of theatre that is enjoyed world wide, now add Jamaica’s first bobsled team, a sprinkle of Forrest Gump and a whole load of dominos and that is the production of Macbeth we saw tonight. The ability to improvise and go off script is a talent few actors can master, however tonight we discovered that improvisation can be achieved and executed just as well when you have three quarters of a bottle of bombay sapphire in your system. An (almost) entirely sober cast of Macbeth makes for a brilliant night of theatre.
From the offset this play is extremely interactive and involves the audience when and where it can. Before the play has even started roles are dished out to those among the crowd. The first: drunk monitors. Two people in the audience are chosen to ring a bell anytime the drunkard (in this case James Muffit playing Malcolm) appears to be sobering up, or appears too sober. The play stops at the sound of this bell and the drunkard has to have another drink. James gave colourful rendition of the witches’ prophecies and Malcolms all too serious soliloquies and supplied the audience with an abundance of laughs and giggles.
One of the main attributes that stood out about this brilliant production, was the ability for the cast to pick up on things and carry them on as inside jokes between them and the audience. This gave the whole show a more intimate feel and made us, the audience, feel as though we were in on the joke. The beauty about a show as wild and outrageous as this is that each show will be different every time. This time we had Malcolm, son of King Duncan, a black belt in judo with a love for the mighty meaty pizza from dominos and flags.
No words can describe how enjoyable this show is. Interactive, immersive and just a downright laugh and great night out. This non-traditional approach of theatre is something that should be applauded and seen everywhere. For viewers over the age of 18 this is something everyone can enjoy. An (almost) entirely sober cast of Macbeth makes for a brilliant night of theatre. Hopefully one day we will get to see a performance of Sh!t Faced Shakespeare at the Shakespeare’s own Globe Theatre, but for now head down to the Leicester Square Theatre for a night full of laughter, Shakespeare and a lot of alcohol