Shakespeare Shorts
Action to the Word
C Venue, 11 pm
Five Stars

‘Shakespeare for the ipod generation,’ declared the blurb to ‘Shakespeare Shorts’. And my heart sank as much as yours. Going in to the performance, I was geared up to write a polemic on the untouchable nature of the Shakespearean text, how arrogant it was to meddle with the greatest poet. Coming out of it, I felt enthralled by one of the most stimulating, clever and witty pieces of theatre I’ve seen in a long time.

Written by recent Cambridge graduate Alexandra Spencer-Jones and starring several current Cantabrigians, ‘Shakespeare Shorts’ concentrated on ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’, ‘Hamlet’ and ‘Romeo and Juliet’, weaving together extracts from each play. The last sequence of the performance consisted of the scene before ‘The Mousetrap’, Hamlet’s famous play-within-a-play, being used to introduce the Pyramus and Thisbe play of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. ‘The Mousetrap’ was then performed, before ending with Puck’s epilogue. This particular mixture of tragedy and comedy ensured the audience’s participation and attention, never able to simply adjust to a ‘tragic’ play but constantly demanded to really question the nature of the drama. ‘Shakespeare Shorts’ lifted these plays out of their over-used pigeon holes, demanding a reaction to the individuality of each play, scene, line.

The acting was accordingly powerful, moving gracefully between the symbolic and the physical. The opening scene in Hamlet’s ‘The Mousetrap’, for instance, a mime replaying the poisoning of Hamlet’s father by Claudius, took on a greater significance than many directors have given it. As a scene in its own right, flanked by scenes from other plays, Spencer-Jones demanded that it be allowed the powerful tragic possibilities more easily found in spoken scenes.

If you’re in Edinburgh, go and see this: it runs until the 25th. ‘Shakespeare Shorts’ is essentially a Shakespearean opinion, providing a presentation and, moreover, an analysis of the bard’s tragedy at its best.

Toby Chadd