Sh!t Faced Shakespeare: The Endless Laughs

The first cineTrek was about to commence, and I was replete with excitement. I had never been to any sort of comedy/parody of Shakespeare, so I knew I was in for something good. As soon as the play started, I could immediately feel the members of the audience being sucked in this unique play. As far as audience engagement, this was already quite a striking departure from most of the theatre I’ve seen in the U.S.

In my eyes, I got a sense that the English have a great deal of respect for their theatre. More so than what I’ve seen from attending American theater. The awe and admiration for the show could be felt flowing through the audience members. The cheers and laughter were flowing freely throughout the audience members, and I could tell that the cast was enjoying every second.

The stark contrast between the seriousness of the English to the hilarity of the play was another interesting point. From my limited three days of experience, I have noticed that the English are very serious. For instance, I have noticed a lot of the English people seem to have an almost disgruntled look to them and do not ever really say hi or smile. There have been a few exceptions, but those exceptions are just that. I thought this seriousness would somehow seep in the performance of the comedy, but I was very mistaken. The actors were all having the greatest of times performing and being really funny. I find this point to be salient because it might mark a sort of link between the greatness in English theatre and the seriousness of the people. One the one hand, it allows the English to become fully engrossed and committed to the plays that they do, as was the case with Shitfaced Shakespeare. All of the actors performed incredibly, and their improv timing was uncanny. I think this stems from the sort of way they hold and present themselves. The English seem to really dial into their work, which translates into exceptional theatre.

Overall, this experience allowed me to gain insight into some of the differences between American and British theater.