#1 CineTrek Blog: Sh*tfaced Shakespeare

It’s was a beautiful, surprisingly warm, day in London (what a perfect first day to explore)! Although most of us were pretty jet lagged, our excitement was able to mask most of our tiredness. After roaming around our new home, our eager group moved its way down to Leicester Square Theatre for our opening CineTrek, Sh*tfaced Shakespeare. Not knowing what to expect (nor knowing much of anything about Shakespeare, sorry Bill), I grabbed a beer at the theatre’s bar, took my seat, and sat back anticipating the show. What I witnessed next was pretty astonishing and most definitely HILARIOUS. However, I found it slightly saddening that |I and countless others enjoyed watching someone get belligerently drunk rather than the actual play. I think this gave me further insight into the American and millennial culture I am apart of.

The original play that the Sh*tfaced Shakespeare group mocked is called, The Merchant of Venice. Prior to the show, I googled a synopsis of the original play in hopes to better understand what was going on. Despite my research, I was a bit confused to start off the show, but once the drunk actress, Jessica, came out, much of my confusion vanished. The entire first few minutes of the show I was trying to figure out which member was drunk. I had a hunch it was Antonio, but once Jessica stumbled out repeating her “sex party” line, I knew it had to be her.

Although I vaguely knew the story line, I found myself to be more focused on how drunk the “chosen” actress was. Feeling bubbly from my beer, laughter poured out of me after nearly every line Jessica spat out. It was very entertaining to watch her attempt to get through the play and also listen to the crowd's reactions. There were a few rowdy audience members who would scream out, “Drink more!” when she wasn’t being funny enough or following her lines too closely. Aside from that, the crowd was well behaved and fully invested in the show.

It was intriguing to watch how much pressure was put on the drunk actress.The majority of the entertainment factor was reliant on how drunk and funny she could be. Although the other actors were important and tried very hard to stay true to the play, it was evident Jessica had to work the hardest, or maybe the least hardest in some eyes.

Following the show, our professor, Bill, asked us to reflect on what makes this show entertaining to the public. From my perspective, I found watching Jessica the most entertaining factor. Although I admire Shakespeare's work, I don’t think I would pay money to see the same show without the “sh*tfaced” factor. I’m sure many avid Shakespeare fans would have thoroughly enjoyed either show (drunk or not) so I would say it depends on the audience member. That being said, the majority of the audience members who are my age seemed to of thought the same thing. Our professor asked us for any critiques regarding the play. I’d say it was pretty hard to critique what we saw because all of us had similar reactions: it was hilarious. However, I do have a few critiques for myself and my generation.

Shakespeare's work, although old and sometimes hard to follow, is beautiful and should continue to be taught and cherished as the masterpiece it is. I wish my generation would give a bit more thought on things of the past than constantly focusing on the "now" and the "new". I think many "new" things can actually unravel from Shakespeare's work and teach us more than we may of thought about past and present societies.

I would 100% see another one of the Sh*tfaced Shakespeare shows but I will try harder to admire our next show, Hamlet, in its original form.