Back Room of The Star Inn, Guildford – April 10 2019
Review by Heather Chalkley
3***
A full on hour of précised prose, speedy changes – both character and costume – and classic Shakespearean bawdy humour. Shakespeare wrote for the common people of his century, Helen Manners and Ian Renshaw have rewritten it the for 21st century!
The performance space is small and made smaller by the screens, behind which all manner of costumes and props appeared and strange noises emitted!
The basic and sometimes disheveled appearance of the set and actors (Helen Manners and Ian Renshaw) added to the humour of the piece.
I like it that both actors played male and female roles, particularly when you consider all roles were played by men, in The Bards time. Renshaw’s depiction of Queen Margaret D’Anjou as a cussing, straight talking, angry woman was hilarious. Manners’ dead pan portrayal of Lord Buckingham had me in stitches. The star of the piece is Richard the lll himself, played by Renshaw true to the original as a nasty piece of work.
This is a cleverly put together and unique adaptation of a play that was dark and brooding in its original form (and far too long!). The occasional intersection of a song and the inclusion of the audience gave it a pantomime feel at times. Like Shakespeare meets Horrible Histories for grown ups!
Part of the Guildford Fringe Week