Surprises abound with “Villainy” from This Ain’t Real Theatre Company. I went into seeing a show based on Shakespeare with much fear and trepidation. How would that work for Fringe? Well, it does work by turning the bard on his ear, and poking a few holes into Willie Shakes’ most famous bad guys.
Surprises abound with “Villainy” from This Ain’t Real Theatre Company. I went into seeing a show based on Shakespeare with much fear and trepidation. How would that work for Fringe? Well, it does work by turning the bard on his ear, and poking a few holes into Willie Shakes’ most famous bad guys.
The show was clever. That doesn’t always work in Theatre, but it did here. The mixing of the many plays, taken apart in different forms is well done. I was very impressed by both the video segments with a teenager living out Othello via World of War Craft, and with the group therapy session for Villains. Neither will end well for someone.
The piece is old school Shakespeare, but is modern. There’s a little bit of Jerry Sringer to it all. Some might say Shakespeare was at times the Jerry Springe of his age. The violence, death, and family quarrels all put on stages for crowds to cheer and boo with great earnest. I cheer for this production and welcome Shakespeare back to Fringe.