Writers: Adam Long, Daniel Singer & Jess Winfield
Director: Kate Canning
This rollicking, rumbustious, romp through Shakespeare’s greatest hits is a delicious treat for a summer evening’s entertainment. Declan O’Loughlin’s, Sean Murphy’s and Will Flanagan’s fast paced performances carry the audience through a rollercoaster 100 minutes of Shakespearean drama.
There are tantalising soundbites of half remembered lines from distant school years to titillate the brain cells when not laughing at the witty, speedy delivery of all Shakespeare’s 37 plays performed by only three actors.
The simplicity of the staging harks back Shakespeare’s lifetime when a travelling troupe of players visited villages and performed in the open air. The venue is idyllic. The walled garden in St Enda’s Park is a haven amid the city. With a long table festooned with props to the rear and foldable audience chairs set in a horse shoe facing it, the audience is immediately immersed in the play. Bawdy in places, the audience is encouraged to take on the role of the groundlings in the Globe Theatre, laughing, cheering, participating and laughing some more. Through spirited interaction, the actors chide and incite the audience and a pantomime jollity encourages the spectators to engage wholeheartedly in the performance.
Kate Canning’s assured direction ensures the action never lags. O’Loughlin, Murphy and Flanagan managed to miraculously create a range of characters and a range of settings. These actors work doubly hard to conjure the contrasting worlds of the plays with no scenery, no lighting, no elaborate costumes and no stage furniture. They succeed wonderfully in transporting the audience through their movements, voice modulations, gestures, words and actions.
Although written in the 1980s in the US, the script has lost none of its appeal. Local references are included and contemporary political allusions thrown in to keep the play topical.
The Complete Works of Shakespeare Abridged is the best evening’s entertainment you’ll see this year. Get thee to it now!
Runs Until 24th July 2025.
