Verona-and-Venice vs Southend-on-Sea: Reviewing 'The Improvised Shakespeare Show' at The Other Palace

★★★★ | ShakeItUp’s debut at The Other Palace Theatre Studio was an electric 2-hour-long show that is ingenious and fully improvised, whilst staying true to Shakespearean tropes and lexicon.

Audience participation is at the heart of this show. Before it began, a cast member brought around a tankard that audience members would fill with dialogue prompts; these were then strapped to each cast member and opened at a moment of their choosing, opening doors for more improvisational fun throughout both stories. More cast members then came out to gradually form basic elements of the plot – slowly, genres, names, and locations were built.

Photos supplied by the production.

Our first story of the night was "The History of Keith of Southend" Our conniving protagonist, Keith, was the envious brother to the king, and our story followed his ascension to kinghood as well as immediate death thereafter. We followed Keith on his journey into London from Southend (the route takes you through Epping Forest, apparently), to meet Lord Barking so that Southend can have access to the Central line. The references to London and Southend (unreliability of public transport and frequent callbacks to quirks of Southend had been listed by the audience member from the very beginning) landed incredibly and often broke the room out in a raucous wave of laughter. Queen Clarissa and Joseph both were a particular standout – an opinion that I clearly shared with the rest of the audience since the room exploded with applause when her highness's actor stepped forward.

This second story was "The Comedy of Clarissa of Glasgow". Clarissa, the Queen of Southend whom we had last seen imprisoned inside the Hall of Mirrors on the end of the Southend pier, took form as our protagonist. We followed along as she searched for a suitable match for her son, Harold Jr, to marry. The problem? Harold Jr was already in love with a woman named Bianca, whom his mother didn’t approve of, and instead suggested a bicurious noblewoman Livinia. Bianca and Harold Jr planned to flee, meeting at a Glasgow art gallery, where an ancient being by the name of The Curator awaited to create mayhem. The intertextual references within this second play were perfectly played out; each cast member well attuned to references that I had forgotten about until they brought them back into focus.

Photo supplied by the production.

With few set pieces and props at hand, the group set themselves a challenge. With the aid of the guitarist who sat onstage and scored our characters’ adventures as they were set up, they created an electric atmosphere, which was upheld even during the interval through medieval renditions of pop songs (The ‘I’m A Survivor’ cover was my personal favourite!).

Line deliveries were simply perfect, and their timings were so very attuned to their fellow performers, a testament to their group chemistry. It was an unpredictable night, beyond what I could have imagined. You won't want to miss this.

★★★★

ShakeItUp: The Improvised Shakespeare Show ran at The Other Palace Theatre Studio from 9 July through to 13 July.