The Queensland Shakespeare Ensemble presents 'The Bomb-itty of Errors', a rockin' hip-hoppin', high-energy, hilarious 'ad-rap-tation' of Shakespeare's 'The Comedy of Errors'.
Four actors, playing multilple characters, multiple genders, all while rapping and rhyming along the way practically ensures hilarity and chaos. Listening in on a conversation between two of the leads, Colin Smith and Silvan Rus, demonstrates the depth of their appreciation for Shakespeare and hip hop.
What is your role, and how did that come about?
CS: I play Antipholus of Syracuse. I think that [director] Zac [Kelty] cast me in this role because I have a propensity for good accents. There's a song in the middle of the show where I have to change between Swahili, Portugese, German, French, English, in the space of a few lines, so, maybe that's what did it! Plus I have the smallest drag role in the show, ’cause I'm not a very good woman.
SR: Oh, no, I would not agree with that. You make a great woman.
CS: Have you been checking me out? [laughter]
SR: My role is Antipholus of Epheseus, and Zac and I both love hip hop, beat boxing – we have our jam sessions sometimes – yeah, we have an appreciation for hip hop music AND Shakespeare, so he asked me to come on board.
What has Shakespeare taught you about life?
CS: Ha! That it is infinitely more complex than we think. Things are not black and white, there is lots of grey in between. You know, the bad guys are never entirely bad, and the good guys are never entirely good.
SR: There is beauty in the therapy of speaking his words. I am very much a musical person, the way I think, the way I feel is through music, and one of the things that drew me to this was the rhythm of the text and understanding what I'm talking about. It's helped me become a better storyteller, better at communicating my ideas. It's such a good channel to have to articulate my ideas and feelings, which I could never articulate like Shakespeare does – he also has such an economy of words, so precise.
How important is the audience to and in the show? Are they an extra character or part of the show?
CS: Always! With QSE shows, the audience is always the 'missing cast member'.
SR: There is such a direct connection between the actor and the audience.
CS: You get that immediacy, you know where they are, whether they are with you or not.
SR: And every audience is different! That's what I love about live theatre – it's not just the performers who are live, the audience is LIVE! They can make or break a show, and I think if we connect directly with them, they are always happy to come along for the ride. And we love the audiences who are vocal in their support.
Any last comments or things we should know about the show?
CS: Well, it's a bit blue, we should probably warn people. There is some swearing, but it's all very necessary and justified. Apparently, we have actually cleaned this version up quite a bit from the ones Zac has done in the States. There are some adult themes but seriously, Shakespeare was so bawdy originally that we can't do anything worse.
SR: It is an essential show for us to put on because it really closes the gap between modern audiences and Shakespeare. It is so fast, what is it, like 90 minutes straight through? You will have the best time ever. It is the bomb.
CS: Word.
See 'The Bomb-itty of Errors' from Feb 24-Mar 8 at the Geoffrey Rush Drama Studio, University of Queensland, Saint Lucia.
