Improvised Rubbish Shakespeare

Improvised Rubbish Shakespeare isn’t quite as the name suggests. Yes, there is improvisation with a Shakespearean twist, but this is far from rubbish. The Rubbish Shakespeare Company have created an engaging format that is a creative introduction to the language and style of Shakespeare, whilst also being an hilarious comedy.

The premise of the show is William Shakespeare has failed to turn up for a performance meaning the cast have no scripts. With the King in the audience, they can’t let him down. Instead, they decide to improvise a show using audience suggestions of a time period, a situation and a location. Over the course of an hour, the cast create a 5 act play fit for a King.

At the production we watched, the time period and location was Ancient Greece, and the theme was two people weren’t allowed to get married. There was also a side theme (or side quest if you will) to locate a special cream that can protect from the sun.

The show was hilarious, and the absolute best kind of crazy, chaotic fun. There are only 5 actors in the cast, so they each had to play multiple roles. Using quick costumes such as wigs, jackets and togas, the actors transformed into different characters with an incredible skill. Each actor created a character quickly, and everyone seemed to know where each other was going which created a natural flow to the narrative. If we hadn’t been involved in creating the scenario we wouldn’t have guessed this was all improvised.

This production was scheduled to be outside, but with 15 minutes to go the rain went from intermittent shower to full monsoon; we would have been swimming to our seats. The last minute switch to an inside production space didn’t appear to phase the cast or have any negative impact. We’re sure they were thrilled not to have another wet performance, but given that they hadn’t experienced the indoor space at all we wouldn’t have blamed them being slightly thrown.

The Rubbish Shakespeare Company produce family friendly content aimed at introducing people to Shakespeare in a positive manner. Our show was still very much PG, but the audience was made up entirely of adults which the cast seemed to relish, and definitely pushed the boundaries more than they normally would. They themselves made reference to this when the cast embarked on drinking the magical Irish elixir (Guinness) from an audience member.

At the start of every show, an audience member is selected to be King. Andy was selected at random in our show, and at the end had to give a thumbs up or a thumbs down about whether the show had been good. There was no doubt the show would be a thumbs up as we hugely enjoyed the production. We will definitely be going to watch more Rubbish Shakespeare performances, as we found the entire hour hilarious.

The Company are taking their Improvised Rubbish Shakespeare: The Incomplete Works of Shakespeare up to Edinburgh Fringe. From 2nd to 28th August, they will be performing daily at Pleasance Above. They also have a Rubbish Romeo and Juliet show at the same place, which we’re reliably informed includes sausage rolls. We don’t know any more than that, but if their improv show is anything to go by then Romeo and Juliet will be amazing.

Full details about The Rubbish Shakespeare Company can be found on their website.

Originally posted: July 24, 2023