Warm and sunny are not words usually used to describe London, but Sh*tfaced is not usually a word used to describe Shakespeare. Both of these occurrences rang true on Friday when our London group trekked through the town to witness The Merchant of Venice...but sh*tfaced. Sh*tfaced Shakespeare juxtaposes tradition and modernism by taking a treasured piece of rich English history and presenting it in a way more appealing to more people in the modern day. The concept behind it appeals to an entirely different audience than those who would watch a traditional Shakespeare play, and that is part of what makes it so great. The other part of what makes it so great is, in our experience, Bombay Sapphire and a few bottles of beer.
Although not closely familiar with The Merchant of Venice, I had a rough summary idea of the plot beforehand. It would be an understatement to say my predispositions of Shakespeare have been blown away. Interpretations such as "She's the Man" for "Twelfth Night" have made Shakespearean literature easier for the average modern mind to consume, but Sh*tfaced Shakespeare draws an entirely novel appeal for an international audience. From start to finish, the crowd was enthralled with the actor's improvisational skills and amazed at their ability to seamlessly break the fourth wall while maintaining the magic of the play.
The crowd's instruments and the impromptu addition of the "monkey" provided novelty ways for the actors to keep the crowd actively involved, and the actress playing Jessica's performance was a blend of raunchy and self-depreciating humor. Despite her cognitive impairment, she was able to maintain several running jokes. The uniqueness of Sh*tfaced Shakespeare lies in its ability to be similar yet different: while the plot remains (mostly) the same, the script can go any number of ways for added twists individual to every show. While most plays are practiced and rehearsed to absolute perfection, the incidents and mess ups made by actors in this play are part of what makes it so great and sets it apart from most plays at London's world famous West End. Additionally, the choice to move Jessica to a more major character in Merchant of Venice raised questions of whether it was an impromptu choice or if the play is engineered to give the sh*tfaced actor a majority of the screen time. One of my favorite scenes was when the actress playing Jessica broke the fourth wall and started talking about the actor playing Bassanio's personal life, not only because it humanized the actors but because it became a running joke used by all the actors throughout the rest of the play. The actress playing Jessica's faux pas of breaking the fourth wall to reveal Bassanio's personal life and preferences related to the idea in Ways of Seeing that "Shame is of the spectator, and not of each other". While this was intended to reference Adam and Eve, its application to Sh*tfaced Shakespeare in this specific occurrence cannot be overstated. The actors, who are used to seeing each other sh*tfaced due to the nature of their work, were extremely comfortable with one another and were able to play off each other's reactions. The shame, and subsequent entertainment, of the audience, was not shared by the actors. We felt uncomfortable because we were spectators--we did not share the personal connection that they did and therefore felt intrusive seeing Jessica in such an unabashedly honest way. The traditionally social event of drinking was turned into a public performance, instead of being an intimate conversation between friends the setting became a stage, and with it came a willingness to bare her personal life to a few hundred people she had no prior connection with.
While many in the audience questioned the authenticity of her drunkness, not because of her acting ability but because of the nature of the play, we received confirmation afterward when overhearing one of the actor's close friends talking about how entertaining it was to see the actor that sh*tfaced. After knowing that the performance was completely real, improvisational, and unquestionable hilarious, I have absolutely zero criticisms to make and a world of positive reviews to say about Sh*tfaced Shakespeare. It was an amazing way to begin my trip in London and an experience I surely will never forget.
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