Review: Sh!t-Faced Shakespeare: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, EdFringe

The five-star, multi sell-out Fringe phenomenon Sh!t-Faced Shakespeare makes yet another triumphant return to Edinburgh, this time with A Midsummer Night’s Dream. It’s an extremely simple concept; audiences are gifted a performance of a Shakespeare show, but with a slight twist. One member of the cast is completely hammered. The selected drunkard is rotated each night, making sure no show is the same as the next.

I had my doubts. How drunk can somebody truly be and remember, however loosely, that they’re delivering Shakespearean dialogue? But doubtful is perhaps the best way to approach this show, because any prior expectations will be exceeded.

The show (roughly) follows the same plot as the original play, with four young lovers, Lysander, Demetrius, Hermia and Helena, fleeing into a magical forest where they’re manipulated by mischievous fairies. It’s a tale of disenfranchised lovers and ill-suited marriages.

The show begins with the compère grandly revealing exactly how much the inebriated actor has consumed. Others who’ve seen previous iterations of the show note that usually, audiences are told which cast member has spent the past four hours drinking, but there was no indication of who it was at Wednesday’s show. Not that the indication was needed; within minutes of the performance beginning, it was very easy to realise it was Helena.

Rea Malhotra Mukhtyar was positively hilarious in her depiction of the forgotten Helena. Her ability to flawlessly recite countless lines with a dripping White Claw in hand was admirable, with Mukhtyar often playfully ad-libbing in a way that had the audience completely cracking up. Her skill revealed itself best when she played into the audience participation; her coy asides tickled the entire theatre. She entered a scene clinging to Demetrius’ leg like a dog, which saw even the actor struggling to contain his laughter. It’s a delight to see how the rest of the cast adapt to the quick-paced plot diversions, leading to a rather passionate unplanned kiss between Lysander and Demetrius and more than a few interjections from the compère to remind the cast they did only have thirty more seconds to bring the scene to somewhat of a close.

Audience participation is no more than would be expected at a pantomime. One gentleman in the front row was decorated frugally as Queen Tatiana, which meant he had to hop up onto the stage to perform a rather impromptu suggestive dance with Bottom. Another person was given a gong, somebody else a baby doll, somebody else a confetti cannon. The doll was launched forcibly at Tatiana; the confetti cannon and gong went off within a few scenes of one another, encouraging the audience to cry, ‘One more drink!’. Mukhtyar, to her absolute credit, allowed herself to be bolstered by a further chant to down her first White Claw.

The show is a constant reinvention of itself, and an absolute top-tier showcase of improv comedy. The rest of the cast managed to carry Mukhtyar both physically and contextually but even they were struggling to stay in character toward the end. Delightfully, there are no restrictions with this show. Absolutely nothing is off the table.

Sh!t-Faced Shakespeare: A Midsummer Night’s Dream is the perfect way to round off a full day at the Fringe. You’re guaranteed to spend a solid evening belly-laughing and sure to leave with a sore face.

Sh!t-Faced Shakespeare: A Midsummer Night’s Dream has completed its run at EdFringe.