Perhaps the book of the Bard need not be found in every
hotel room, as the actors at the Classical Theatre Project’s The Complete Works of William Shakespeare exclaim it should be, but we think you should find
yourself catching this show before the end of August MMXII.
We jumped at the chance to see a Toronto trio perform the
wildly successful London parody, a.k.a. The Compleat Wrks of Wllm Shkspr
(Abridged), and found ourselves happily situated at the castle on the hill. The
pithy script is a winner and actors Matt Drappel, Jeff Hanson and Kevin Ritchie
thoroughly exercised their right to improvise. They peppered in remarks on Rob
Ford and Canada’s Olympic performance while commenting on their own need for
laughs with the same self-deprecating humour the Brits are known for.
wildly successful London parody, a.k.a. The Compleat Wrks of Wllm Shkspr
(Abridged), and found ourselves happily situated at the castle on the hill. The
pithy script is a winner and actors Matt Drappel, Jeff Hanson and Kevin Ritchie
thoroughly exercised their right to improvise. They peppered in remarks on Rob
Ford and Canada’s Olympic performance while commenting on their own need for
laughs with the same self-deprecating humour the Brits are known for.
The light-hearted show took the audience from Romeo and
Juliet to Titus Andronicus the cooking show to Othello the rap song. In dealing with the
comedies, which we were told are actually not as funny as the tragedies, all
the plot lines were tied together and told as one story. The abridged version
of Macbeth was an amusing testament to English sentiments towards the Scottish
and led into the swift demise of the plays Julius Caesar and Antony and
Cleopatra. The histories became a football match, likely the first one that has
made us chuckle. The show closed with Hamlet. Three times. Once abridged, once
again at breakneck speed and, finally, backwards.
Juliet to Titus Andronicus the cooking show to Othello the rap song. In dealing with the
comedies, which we were told are actually not as funny as the tragedies, all
the plot lines were tied together and told as one story. The abridged version
of Macbeth was an amusing testament to English sentiments towards the Scottish
and led into the swift demise of the plays Julius Caesar and Antony and
Cleopatra. The histories became a football match, likely the first one that has
made us chuckle. The show closed with Hamlet. Three times. Once abridged, once
again at breakneck speed and, finally, backwards.
Complete Works will return to Casa Loma on Wednesday, August 15 and Wednesday, August 29
with shows at 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Without a doubt we recommend this show as
the perfect Wednesday evening diversion. We have a few tips to offer as well
(garnered from our own errors as the best advice is). First, arrive early.
Stadium style seating is not available at this venue and you’ll want a clear
view, those seated in the front row also have a more interactive experience.
Second, bring bug spray. The late summer mosquitoes can be quite pesky at
the luscious grounds. Third, be prepared for sore cheeks. Ours still hurt from
laughing!
with shows at 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Without a doubt we recommend this show as
the perfect Wednesday evening diversion. We have a few tips to offer as well
(garnered from our own errors as the best advice is). First, arrive early.
Stadium style seating is not available at this venue and you’ll want a clear
view, those seated in the front row also have a more interactive experience.
Second, bring bug spray. The late summer mosquitoes can be quite pesky at
the luscious grounds. Third, be prepared for sore cheeks. Ours still hurt from
laughing!
All images courtesy of Classical Theatre Project.
RIB 2 