Review: The Drowsy Thespian; An Intoxicatingly Frivolous Evening of Classical Theatre in SH*T-FACED SHAKESPEARE

Actors are superstitious people. I have seen some pretty outrageous rituals in the rehearsal room during my time as an actor. It seems that during every step along the way from casting to opening night, the actor has something to keep them, and the production, safe. Don't speak the name of this play. Don't wish each other "good luck". Did someone remember to turn on the Ghost Light? With all of these superstitions aside, no amount of good luck can prepare a cast for the unavoidable. In the situation of Sh*t-Faced Shakespeare, which is now playing at the Davis Square Theatre and features one heavily intoxicated cast member surrounded by a troupe of sober actors, the hilarity lives when everything goes horribly wrong.

On any given night, the Boston theatre scene offers an array of diverse performance options from which to choose. The Boston Opera House hosts Broadway tours, The Huntington Theatre Company and American Repertory Theatre are the city's resident LORT houses, and then there are a plethora of professional and community theatre companies who are constantly churning out new works. However, with all of the options available, there is almost something charming about riding the Red Line to its end, walking a block and a half, and discovering a quaint Shakespearian Troupe located in the basement of a Davis Square restaurant waiting to tell you a story.

The story here is Shakespeare's Comedy, Much Ado About Nothing. Oh, you're not a Shakespeare fan? You think he's "too old school" or "lame?" Luckily for you, understanding or compression of Shakespeare is not a prerequisite for this spin on the Bard's Tale. Because, four hours before curtain, when most actors I know would be preparing by doing vocal trills, meditation, or kegels, one lucky actor in this cast is throwing back drinks like he is the Frat Daddy of Phi Delta Theta. That's one way to get into character.

The show begins with the Compere (an entertaining Mac Young), the narrator of sorts and keeper of the Drunk's safety, bringing the audience up to speed for the event about to unfold. We are shown a tray of empties and told this is everything consumed by one of the actors. At my performance, 8 beers and a few shots of Wild Turkey were on display. Just when you thought the poor bastard had it rough enough, the Compere hands out a gong and a horn to audience members with the instructions to sound the alarm when it appears the actor is beginning to show signs of sobriety thus making him drink more.

The show begins, Shakespeare is spoken, actors do their thing, and everything is moving along nicely for what is expected to be an enjoyable, high-brow evening of classic theatre. Then, stumbling in from stage right, costume already askew, and in a glassy-eyed haze enters the drunk. The cast all looks at him for his line. The drunk looks back at them. The cast looks at him again hoping and praying he gives the right cue. The drunk finally realizes he has already thrown off the show before his first line is uttered and in a moment of embarrassment attempts to summon his strength to deliver his line. The audience takes a short gasp. Will he accomplish this impossible task of performing Shakespeare intoxicated? The actor takes another short moment and then speaks, "I'm so fucked up man." It is in that moment, that everyone who attended this performance got what they paid to see. Debauchery.

The show continues down this slippery slope for the duration of a 60-minute performance. Actors play out the scene and then the Drunk comes on stage and tries to get through his lines, but it never works out the way he hoped. The heavily structured formula produces great comedy in addition to the comedy spouting from the text of the play. Surprisingly, a majority of the laughs didn't come from the drunk, but from the sober cast trying to keep it together in the namesake of theatre.

Comedy thrives when everything goes wrong. The best moments on The Carol Burnett Show were when Tim Conway made Harvey Korman break on live television. We eat up moments like this, but building a show that hinges upon that notion is dangerous and would probably fall flat on it's face if left in the hands of amateurs. Luckily, the talent involved in Sh*t-Faced Shakespeare knows forcing the show into hilarity will be catastrophic. In fact, Marissa Rae Roberts (Beatrice) told me after the show that rehearsals are conducted like any other production she's been involved in. No instruction is given to the cast on how to perform their character when it's their turn to pregame before a show.

Sh*t-Faced Shakespeare premiered A Midsummer's Night Dream in Boston last April (the show has been running successfully in the UK since 2010) and is selling tickets through April of this year. Tickets are only $25 and would make for a great group outing or a helluva first date ice breaker. Sh*t-Faced Shakespeare will be rolling out a third production in the city in addition to a tour. With a great formula in place, Sh*t-Faced Shakespeare is poised to join the ranks of some of Boston's long running comedy shows. I look forward to new productions featuring different Shakespeare Plays (the tragedies would make for some excellent comedy) and maybe, if the team is feeling ambition enough, developing a sister troupe called "The Blazed Bard."

For tickets, visit the show's website.

Photo Credit: Nile Hawver / Nile Scott Shots

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