What I liked
All this playing with alternative viewpoints and “what-ifs” is great. We experience well known scenes (and you will recognise the scenes, even if you haven’t seen or read the play) through the eyes of someone who isn’t the protagonist, interpreted with Charlie’s typical wit and creativity, sometimes seen through a modern lens. The emotions are raw and run the full spectrum from uplifting comic relief to gripping and tender moments which will have you hanging on his every word – both the ones written by him and the ones written by that William chap.
What I didn't like
Nah, it was great.
My overall impression
Charlie is an accomplished Shakespearian actor, and it shows! He may be the most knowledgeable scholar of the Bard’s plays you will ever meet. On the other hand, you don’t need to be an expert to enjoy his work – I certainly am not! Yet I laughed and cried and shared this lovely and intimate experience with my fellow audience members, one in which we were treated to a deep dive into Paris’ psyche, revealing a fragile and lonely narcissist flexing his social status. Yet we feel compassion and empathy, perhaps because something of ourselves is reflected in Charlie’s work – the frailties and blemishes of the human condition – all wrapped in a delicious layer of endearing and irresistibly crude British humour.
This is the second of Charlie’s shows I have seen, and I was so pleased to see it not only be sold-out but even overflowing with extra chairs placed at the sides of the stage. He is thoroughly deserving of this recognition and of the beer which you absolutely must buy him in the bar after the show.
Disclaimer: I am not related to Charlie; our surname is a common one. Indeed a quick search reveals a playwright John Day who was a contemporary of Shakespeare :-)
