21 – 23 April    

The First Folio of Shakespeare’s plays was published four hundred years ago. There can surely be no merrier way of celebrating that anniversary than to pop along to The Wardrobe Theatre for an hour of hilarity delivered with great skill from theatre company Impromptu Shakespeare. Right from the off there is a party game atmosphere. Once seated, each member of the audience is given a table tennis ball upon which is written a single word. On command, all the balls are thrown at a member of the cast who tries to catch them down the front of  his oversized breeches. Last night he caught four, bearing the words ‘truth’, ‘disguise’, ‘guards’ and ‘bishop’. That random mix of words was the springboard from which to launch an improvised tale. Such unstructured spontaneity could easily lead to chaos, but this talented troupe of actors are old hands at creating a coherent narrative on the hoof, and we were treated to an hysterically funny story of sibling rivalry, gender-swapping, discord and tearful reconciliation.

Even when the action became extremely silly, even surreal, the style of delivery was unmistakeably Shakespearian. How do they do it? Certainly not by merely peppering the dialogue with ‘ye olde’ vocabulary. In the daftest moments there is a familiarity with the real Shakespeare that shines through. There is irreverence, but it is of an affectionate and knowing kind. They have an intimate knowledge of his plays, historical, tragical and comical, and all forms are parodied to great effect. Thus, there are ghastly puns, over-extended similes, and far-fetched metaphors in abundance. There is rhyme, rhythm, and rustic song, too. In last night’s show the language of pottery, of all things, was given a Shakespearian working over to produce erotic imagery that would have pleased the very rudest of rude mechanicals. The quick thinking, verbal adroitness and seemingly endless inventiveness of these actors is astonishing.

In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Bottom and his chums deliver a mangled performance of Pyramus and Thisbe, leading Hippolyta to comment, ‘This is the silliest stuff that ever I heard,’ but she had never seen Impromptu Shakespeare. I cannot predict the content of their next show, but non-stop laughter is surely guaranteed. Bravo!

★★★★☆ Mike Whitton 22nd April, 2023