What I liked
Knudsen and Ferrero dig deep into the inner workings of all too familiar characters, bringing a new, relatable look at the cannon. These two flex on the audience, proudly shouting “uhm, yeah, we like Shakespeare.” Truly moving, charming performances afoot here, dancing through accessible retellings of time tested tales.
Direction from Birmingham and Rose, also clearly well versed in the text, kept the show visually dynamic while highlighting and providing ground for the actors to play. This is a tech-lite show but the moments the space came into play elevated the weight of what we’re watching.
Really loved the overall sitcom/soap energy. I almost wish there’d been “live studio audience” sound effects
What I didn't like
Self-aware meta jokes are fun but might not read for a wider audience.
Modern/current vernacular is always tricky to navigate; use of the phrase “social media” felt clunky (but the intention is clear) and it was hard to read if “clutch” was the punchline or not. Was it funny because they said clutch in 2024 or funny because of the context? (I laughed either way so maybe it doesn’t matter?)
My overall impression
We Need Better Friends dares to ask “What if Shakespeare was Frasier?”
Great show for anyone with an ounce of Bard inside of them.
