Who The F–k Is Shakespeare
18 October 2024
Bernie Grant Arts Centre
5.0 out of 5.0 stars
Who The F–k Is Shakespeare just had a short stint at the Bernie Grant Arts Centre, and I had the privilege of attending on of the shows as well as a Q&A afterwards. While there are currently no further public dates scheduled, the show is touring schools and will hopefully continue to be brought to the stage.
This show gives a modern voice to four infamous characters from Shakespeare’s plays as Cleopatra, Ophelia, Lady Macbeth, and Viola take the stage to tell their stories from their own perspective. Inclusive and accessible, it’s a stunning work of modern interpretations to introduce people to the value and fascination of Shakespeare’s work and open a discussion on relevancy and accessibility of the classic plays at the same time. With integrated captions and descriptions, the show aims to speak to everyone and anyone, especially those who might so far have thought these works weren’t for them, opening a whole new generation and population up to engaging with works that were originally intended for the masses, for everyone, not a small academic elite.
The colourful stage consists of a graffiti aesthetic gallery wall at the back, with a portrait of Shakespeare and prop pieces relevant to the characters, as well as four chairs selected to suit each of the women on stage. A golden chaise longue for Cleopatra, a leather armchair for Lady Macbeth, a barstool for Viola, and a flower adorned, high backed wicker chair for Ophelia, perfectly selected for each individual character and their setting and stories.
As the women take the stage in turns, they flow through original script and modern conversation to expand and reframe, incorporating powerful spoken word poetry occasionally veering into snappy rap, and character exposition skilfully. The characters get to take back their stories, explore their narratives, and expand on why their stories matter. Dotted with contemporary references to social media memes, WTF is Shakespeare makes these brilliant stories accessible to young people who typically get introduced to them through school work, not always to the best effect.
Cleopatra laments how her power was reduced to being an & for a man, her own story only utilised to further that of the men in the play. Lady Macbeth is so powerful, her name cannot be spoken in modern theatres, and yet she does not have a name of her own and is reduced to an off-stage death. Viola, arguably the most important character in Twelfth Night, only features as herself very briefly, while spending most of the play being Sebastian, giving way to a discussion about gender, genderqueerness, and the absurdity of imagining the play in Shakespeare’s time, with men dressing as women who dress as men, crafting gorgeous metaphors on modern binary thinking and deconstruction. A beautiful discussion on identity and gender ensues, opening the material up for those who might have thought they could not find representation in these four century old plays. Finally, Ophelia speaks on the softer side of femininity, how even when obedient and supportive, women in history were sidelined and reduced to being a plot device in the story of men.
The 70 minute show is so powerfully constructed, every sentence flows effortlessly, no word is wasted, no controversy ignored. The four extremely talented actors give new life to the characters, examining their stories, lives, modern connections and interpretations. The inclusivity both in casting as well as in how the show is written is astounding and a brilliant example of how modern theatre can widen its audience and invite the usually marginalised or excluded into the space to feel represented and welcomed.
Writer and director Ameera Conrad has left nothing to chance and has crafted a contemporary introduction into Shakespearean work with passion and love for the material, a stunning feminist reading that does not shy away from criticism of the material while exploring why it still matters and needs to be brought to younger, more diverse audiences. With an intersectional lens, exploring issues of colonialism and gender, queerness and applicability to modern times, WTF Is Shakespeare is a work of art!
