Press Gang Reviews
Shakespeare for Supper
Review by Milo
I haven’t quite got it into my head yet, but the egg’s Young People’s Theatre are some of the best performers that I have ever seen! That, combined with the mesmerising songs performed by two members of the headlining band Oystar, has made this opening event of the Shakespeare Unplugged festival an extraordinary experience.
Using passionate songs, hilarious scenes and a production or Pyrams & Thisbe (done in the style of a primary school production with supposedly nervous young actors), this Shakespeare for Supper had me laughing all the way home!
Henry the Fifth
Review by Tabby
Henry the 5th was performed in such a way that I have never seen before. The props were simple. A sandcastle, an old book, some clothes (including a coat), a microphone, some helium gas, some green and red balloons and two crowns.
The story goes like this: Henry the 5th is King of England and reads in a book that he is also King of France. But when he gets there (wanting to speak to King Phillip of France) he finds out that the King is dead and Princess Catherine, is in charge. Suddenly everybody is busy preparing for the coronation day. And Henry still hasn’t had a chance to talk to Catherine!
Then along comes a distant cousin of Princess Catherine and he brings a letter. It states that he is King of France until Catherine is old enough to inherit the crown. Worse still he states that Catherine must marry him, so he can keep the crown forever. Oh dear!
Henry is absolutely furious about this because he wanted Catherine to marry him. So Henry goes back to England and comes up with a fiendish plot.
Meanwhile Catherine marries her distant cousin and Henry marches to France. All terror breaks loose in France now and Catherine escapes!
The war goes on and Henry captures the castle. This goes on for many years and finally they stop. King Henry marries Catherine and all is well. The actors performed this very well and I recommend it very highly.
Henry the Fifth
Review by Louisa
Henry V is usually a quite confusing Shakespeare play, but it has been simplified to fit an 8+ audience. It consists of a cast of 3 actors and a narrator, two of which somewhat swap parts throughout the performance. The set is a boxing ring structure, with a table holding a rather large sandcastle (the apparent France) in the centre.
The young King Henry believes he owns ‘France’ and has the right to the castle. The new king of France still owns the castle and decides that he is not willing to give it up. They start a war that mingles with an argument over Princess Katherine, and who gets to marry her. Solders, represented by balloons, ‘die’ one by one, until just the two kings are left to battle.
The performance is childish and fun and properly suited to its audience. The enthusiasm on the actors’ faces is clear as they recite and in the viewers too! The production is simple yet effective and many members of the crowd left with a smile on their face.
Shakespeare for Supper *
Review by Jollity
I can hardly describe how amazingly brilliant ‘Shakespeare for Supper’ was! The show was a magical experience and the entire cast, including the backstage crew should be commended on their energy, dedication and utter excellence!
Members involved caught every feeling Shakespeare must’ve had in his life time; guilt, love, tragedy, pain, rage. That exactly was what made the event superb! Everyone involved was absolutely sensational and had put in 100%!
I especially enjoyed the story of ‘A Midsummer Nights Dream’ that only lasted about 20 minutes or so, but still managed to grasp every corner of the tale with modern humour, yet understandable and cheery lingo. It was joy to hear the entire audience roar with laughter through out this ‘Dream’ and the way the cast rolled and jumped about, shows that they took perfect advantage of the space given. Members of The Egg have brought Shakespeare to life once again.
Shakespeare for Supper
Review by Tabby*
Shakespeare for Supper is performed by young adults. They can perform a play, dance or sing a song. It started off with a scene from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, performed by about 15 students, which was done as Shakespeare would have written it. Then girls from Norton Radstock School did a dance, which was filled with bangs and crashes! The egg’s dance group then did a dance about Romeo & Juliet, they wore coloured tops: red, pink and purple on one side, blue, green and indigo on the other.
Next came two boys, both on guitars. They sang songs inspired by Shakespeare and were very talented. One boy sang and played guitar whilst the other played bass guitar. Shakespeare for Supper is very good and I recommend it highly. I think Shakespeare himself would have liked it!