Edinburgh 2013 Theatre Review: No Holds Bard (Royale Productions)

“What did you see, a one-man Hamlet?” says Gran each year when I return from the Fringe. Michael Hurst trumps Nan’s wildest imaginings with a one-man Hamlet featuring Othello, King Lear and Macbeth. An actor holds a gun to his head, then we’re whisked on a disorientating excursion into the recesses of his disturbed mind, occupied by the characters mentioned above. Bullying, abuse and torment ensues, comic relief is provided by a boorish, Glaswegian Macbeth who casually fries up breakfast whilst chatting to the neurotic Hamlet. An Olivier-style foaming-mouthed, dubiously accented Othello raises more than a few awkward titters. It’s dodgy ground that I’m not sure works, thankfully his appearances are brief. Tweak the borderline offensive Othello and this sweaty, schizophrenic, Shakespearian mash-up could become a classic.

Assembly Roxy, until 26 Aug (not 12,19), 12.20pm.
tw rating 3/5 | [Holly Sharp]

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Review: 'Macbeth', Teatr im. Kochanowskiego, The Globe, 8th May 2012

Teatr im. Kochanowskiego’s disclaimer ‘very adult content’, certainly doesn’t fail to disappoint; throat burning shots handed out by lascivious transvestites, King Duncan’s wrinkly birthday striptease and the unsettlingly realistic and bloody rape of Lady Macduff are just some of the attractions handed out in this ‘camp-tacular’ Macbeth.  One key criticism is Kleczewska’s decision to extend culpability of the murders to the witches, Ross and Lennox. The wider court’s complicity in the murders undermines the intense, claustrophobic and escalating depravity of the Macbeths’ relationship; the murders become not so much symptomatic of a couple’s sexualised pursuit for power but the collective actions of a ready-corrupted, shagging, powder sniffing court. Whilst the debauched cokey rave setting was a great choice, the group dynamic of the murders seemed to come at the cost of one of the most compelling elements of the play. Why not keep the character’s coked up and have them induced into paranoid, twitchy wrecks who are plagued with the suspicion that Big Mac’s started killing everyone? A solidly enjoyable production, but chaos took over from plot a little too often. 3/5