Review by anonymous
June 19, 2016What I liked
5.30 on a Friday afternoon on Vine is not where you would probably expect to find four young actors ready to ‘do their Shakespeare’, but this show at The Three Clubs was full of pace and vitality while the weekend rush hour was building up outside. The cabaret style venue proved practical and intimate as the audience chose who would play which part in a series of the Bard’s duologues, with themes around love, sex and relationships (hence the tenuous link to ‘50 Shades’ in the title.)
Noah James, Jordan Mann, Jelly Nienaltowki & Eddie Vona were a good team, eagerly throwing themselves in their allocated roles. At times their attack made the hour long performance a little relentless – like being hit over the head with classical text – but there were some lighter moments earned, particularly from Noah James who played some emotionally challenged heroines at this performance!
A great idea, that nearly works, without being too gimmicky, relies on an audience with some appreciation of Shakespearean text to really get full enjoyment here. But that said, the audience participation and welcoming atmosphere means this company are here to make sure a good time is had by all.
What I didn't like
The idea is a good one, a little more light and shade (if you pardon the reference to the title) in some of the scenes would have shaped the performance better. But a good, young cast work hard (a little too hard at times perhaps?) to give the crowd a fun experience.
My overall impression
Great cast, great venue, great idea – a few more ‘moments’ within the frenetic playing would have been a nice bonus.
