Leicester Square Theatre – until 9th September 2023
Reviewed by Ben Jolly
4****
The team from Sh!t-faced Shakespeare® have fallen off the wagon and now return to the Leicester Square Theatre, this time for a raucous rendition of the classic comedy, Much Ado About Nothing…
If you aren’t already familiar with the concept, it’s all in the title; each evening, a few hours before curtain one member of the cast is nominated to get completely sozzled and has to perform the play alongside their sober colleagues. The cast rotate roles, drinkers and master of ceremonies – who has the important job of holding the show together. In all honesty, I was somewhat hesitant toward this concept when I first heard of it. I’m a firm believer in the adage, “you gotta have a gimmick” but how would this one sustain to engage us after the initial shock factor had worn off upon being introduced to the drunk? Oh how naive I was.
Our compère last night was played by Beth-Louise Priestly who took on this role with wit, charm and an abundance of energy. While this part has the responsibility of keeping everyone in check (cast and audience alike), Priestly expertly straddled the line between fellow player and mother hen, egging us on and managing to keep the show from completely derailing – no mean feat indeed.
Flora Sowerby – the drunk for the evening – was playing the role of Beatrice, well, a somewhat version of Beatrice, anyway, as the bottle of Vinho Verde and champagne from Fortnum & Mason’s had certainly taken effect! Sowerby didn’t even try to conceal this and applied even less effort into remembering her lines, instead we ended up with a bastardised summary, interjected with aggressive outbursts and enough curse words to make Gordon Ramsey blush! Sowerby’s performance was perfection; she leans in just enough to keep us on our toes, dreading what might happen next but knows just when to pull back before the scene gets tired.
It became apparent early on that the comedy in Sh!t-faced Shakespeare® lies heavily with the ensemble, not the drunk as it may initially seem, Chris Lane’s performance of Don John being a prime example of this. The cast must be attentive and malleable and it ultimately pays off time and time again throughout the evening. The play and plot do tend to fade into the background but instead, the piece merges into its own improvised comedic performance, with as much audience participation that would be required for pantomime.
There’s a reason why this global brand keeps coming back time and time again; its themes are universal and without pretension this comrade of misfits honour with dignity the timely traditions of performing Shakespeare, improvised comedy and, of course, to become completely inebriated while doing it.