Yes – it's exactly what it sounds like.
'Sh!t-Faced Shakespeare' blends classic theatre with alcohol, bringing out a genuinely inebriated actor to be part of the show every night. This of course means no two performances are ever the same, and as an audience member you're guaranteed to witness a completely ridiculous rampage of a show.
The only question left to ask is. . . What could go right?
Here, 'Sh!t-Faced Shakespeare''s Richard Hughes chats about the company's rendition of the iconic 'Hamlet'.
Where did the concept of doing Shakespeare under the influence come from?!
Our company director was trying to fill a theatre tent at a music festival in the UK back in 2008, and out of what can only be described as desperation decided to give drunken Shakespeare a go. It was such a disaster that we were immediately asked if we could do it again the following year, and 12 years later it’s still going strong. . .
Obviously this means no two shows are ever the same. What is the craziest thing (in memory) that has happened during a show thanks to its premise?
The thing about this premise is that it tends to ensure something crazy genuinely happens during most shows – a huge number of which are frankly unprintable. However, Romeo jumping up to Juliet's six-foot balcony in a display of (drunken) love and gently tipping the whole thing over, with her in it (before being saved in the nick of time by another cast member) certainly sticks out.
You're tackling 'Hamlet' this time. What kinds of Shakespearean shenanigans can we expect?
'Hamlet' is if not the most famous, then certainly the most iconic of Shakespeare’s plays. As such one would probably normally expect long-winded self-reflective monologues, murder, ‘to be or not to be’ and a bit with a skull. Whether or not any of this gets out during one of our shows remains to be seen. Previous productions of 'Hamlet' have included incest, large sections of 'The Lion King', pot plant duels and about 27 broken prop skulls (mainly thanks to just one actor).
This is not the first Shakespeare story you've presented. Have you found that there have been any new challenges in putting 'Hamlet' together?
In the early days of 'Sh!t-Faced Shakespeare' we tended to put on the comedies – putting on a tragedy like 'Hamlet' however allows the drunk to undercut the bleak nature of the play which is a totally different experience as a sober actor! There’s also a lot of ‘plot’ in 'Hamlet' – and squeezing a four-hour play into a single hour is hard enough, even before you’ve added a drunk.
Image © Rah Petherbridge
How do you possibly rehearse for a show where there's alcohol involved?!
After some early experimentation with ‘wet’ (alcohol-fuelled) rehearsals we soon realised the way the show best works is actually with as tightly-rehearsed a play as possible. So we spend the weeks before a show pretty rigorously rehearsing the piece and tightening up every aspect – especially as every 'Sh!t-Faced' show involves dancing and complicated sword fights. The drunk’s antics are so much more effective if there are really high stakes for them to undercut.
Why do you think 'Sh!t-Faced Shakespeare' does so well/is so well-received?
A question we’re still asking ourselves! Whilst there are many factors – every night is genuinely different, especially as the cast as well as the drunk rotates – we also like to believe part of it is down to our chemistry. We work hard to cast upbeat, easygoing, friendly people and have ended up with a huge group of (hard-working) friends. So the fun we have on stage is genuine – perhaps that’s part of the reason people keep coming back too.
There's also 'Sh!t-Faced Showtime' where you venture away from Shakespeare. Any other 'Sh!t-Faced' shows in the pipeline/in development?
Whilst we’ve definitely discussed ‘Inebriated Ibsen’, ‘Blottoed Berkoff’ and even ‘Munted Marlow’, two 'Sh!t-Faced' productions are currently more than enough to keep us busy.
What is the ideal audience reaction to any given 'Sh!t-Faced' show?
We all genuinely love Shakespeare’s works, and our passion for the plays is at the heart of why we all do this. So other than throwing themselves bodily at us with desire, if we can send even a handful of people away from each show thinking they’d now like to go and see a proper Shakespeare production, then we’re delighted.
Sh!t-Faced Shakespeare Tour Dates
6-8 February – Concourse Chatswood (Sydney)12-13 February – Factory Theatre (Sydney)
14 February-15 March – Adelaide Fringe
18 March – Canberra Comedy Festival
19-22 March – Brisbane Comedy Festival
27 March-5 April – Melbourne International Comedy Festival
