Review – Hamlet and Juliet
Los Angeles-based comedy troupe Sound & Fury are one of the busiest acts of the Adelaide Fringe this year. They’ve got Hitchcocked most nights, Hot Tub Talk Show late on weekends, a improv workshop later in the Fringe, and this dynamic little matinee show – Hamlet and Juliet, a kind of ad-hoc mash-up of two of the Bard’s most famous plays. During their eight visits to the Adelaide Fringe over the years they’ve won three People’s Choice Awards, and it’s not hard to see why.
Hamlet and Juliet riffs on Shakespeare’s works, of course. Prince Hamlet, brooding over the death of his father, meets Juliet Capulet at a party, and – well, I won’t spoil the ending. None of the jokes require a literature degree, and comprehensive knowledge of either play is absolutely no requirement to have a great time. Genre comedy in a vaudeville-nouveau style is Sound & Fury’s mission statement, and they do an excellent job in making their subject matter as accessible as it is funny.
And all that aside, they’re an absolute delight to watch. Their witty opening banter with the audience and with each other moves seamlessly into their show – the fourth wall is non-existent. It’s impossible to tell which parts are scripted and which parts are improvised on the fly (and that includes the parts in rhyming verse). Each member of the three-man troupe plays half a dozen characters at least, wrangling props, costumes and rapid-fire dialogue. At the same time, they create the illusion of effortlessness, which is further testament to their skill and experience as performers.
Get along to at least one of Sound & Fury’s shows if you like Shakespeare, Hitchcock, vaudeville, improv, comedy, laughter, or any combination of the above. You won’t regret it.
