Review | Sh!t-Faced Shakespeare: Much Ado About Nothing at the New Theatre Royal - Pure chaos and non-stop laughter

The result is pure chaos. The concept behind Sh!t-Faced Shakespeare is that one actor has been drinking for four hours prior to the show, and then, with a little help from audience participation, will continue to drink throughout the performance.

The member tonight was Julia, playing the lead role of Beatrice, and what could go wrong if the lead of Much Ado About Nothing is a little tipsy? The mood of the night was firmly set when the male cast members walked on stage with exaggerated codpieces, bringing Shakespearean bawdiness to a new level.

This interesting twist adds an extra degree of fun to the comedies you might have seen before, as the characters go off script and are forced to improvise around the drunk Beatrice, who forgets her lines, reveals plots points, and occasionally appears in scenes she’s not supposed to be in. The other actors had a great time playing along, and there were many inside jokes by the end of the night specific to this night’s performance, so that the play felt almost intimate. One particular highlight was when Beatrice broke into an inebriated rendition of Radiohead’s Creep, forcing the other lead, Benedick, to sing along.

One caveat to this concept is that to fully enjoy the performance, you need to already be familiar with the material, as the plot (already tenuous) fully dissolves into shrieks, random rambles, and general nonsense. Most of the humour stems from the complete deviation from the expected. However, the ‘openness’ of the lead allows her to ask questions and to say aloud what the audience would normally be thinking during a typical performance. Beatrice announced directly to the audience with a wink, “I don’t like him at all! Or do I?” This in turn creates a new meta-layer which is fun and brings to light the utter silliness of performative arts.

Whether or not someone would enjoy this entirely depends on their tolerance for drunken nonsense, as there is absolutely no seriousness to be had. There was non-stop laughter from the audience all night, so if you love chaotic improvisation, then this is the play for you.