*** (3 stars)
“Very Lively”
I guess it would help if I regularly watched Big Brother – but I don’t. This aside, Big Spirit Theatre Company present a very lively take on the familiar show, populating it with some of the Bard’s best known characters.
We meet the contestants who are each given a short soundbite to introduce themselves. Hamlet is an unmitigated, self-centred bore, considering it a done deal that he’s going to win. Romeo looks alarmingly like Leo de Caprio, sunglasses and all: he seems a little shy and reserved, not very sure of himself. The three witches are very outgoing, very excited about their rapidly expanding business, and looking forward to meeting the other occupants of the House. Macbeth’s red-covered hands might give us pause – and he certainly seems very unsettled, giving us a lengthy list of things of which he’s scared…. Ophelia is quiet and unassuming, pretty certain that she’s not involved with anyone outside the House: Juliet by contrast is loud, a bit gobby, and not over-bright. The Housemates are completed by the intriguing Puck, aka Robin Goodfellow – yes, he’s a fairy [but mercifully no nudge nudge wink wink fairy jokes, just an acknowledgement that there is life outside magic and he has quite a lot of it].
The show follows what I assume is the usual format – interactions between pairs of housemates, summonses to the Diary room, sessions in The Chair [cleverly formed from all the other Housemates] and weekly evictions. We get occasional glimpses of ‘behind the scenes’ and the increasingly desperate link person who is the one who talks to Housemates and announces evictions. We are introduced to last year’s winner – Cleopatra – who talks enthusiastically about the opportunities that have come her way since her success in the House. And we watch the relationships developing between the cast members.
It’s amusing, entertaining, and enthusiastically well done by a cast of [mostly] pretty young young people. I don’t want to spoil the fun by revealing the ultimate winner: suffice it to say that things don’t turn out as one might expect from watching the Bard’s plays, and the unexpectedly popular public choice winner doesn’t get what they expect, but I think what they richly deserve.
As a coda, we get to find out how all the other contestants have fared since they left the house – I think it’s fair to say that all’s well that ends well…
Shakespeare’s Big Brother, The Fringe, Paradise in Augustine’s, Venue 152 run ends 22nd August for more information go to: Shakespeare’s Big Brother | Edinburgh Festival Fringe
ScotsGay Arts 