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Edinburgh Fringe 2012

Midnight at the Boars Head

Fine Chisel

Genre: Musical Theatre

Venue:

 Zoo Southside

Festival:


Low Down

Enter the Boar’s Head and become the drunkards and thieves of Shakespeare’s King Henry IV, through folk music and Shakespeare sprouted form behind the bottle and the bar we are taken through the tale of Falstaff and Prince Hal at lightning speed.  

Review

Enter the Boar’s Head and become the drunkards and thieves of Shakespeare’s King Henry IV, through folk music and Shakespeare sprouted form behind the bottle and the bar we are taken through the tale of Falstaff and Prince Hal at lightning speed.

In the cabaret bar of Zoo Southside, we sit around tables as the band play softly on stage and the bar man polishes his glasses, everyone looks a little worst for wear and burp unapologetically after swigging from their brown bottles. The cast of five breaks into song, full of Shakespeare’s own lyrics that exist so well in this folk style. The fiddle, the ukulele, the guitar, the base and choral song sore through the pub and get us in high spirits. ‘To the sea boys and let he go hang! To the sea boys and let he go hang!’ A lyric from The Tempest finishes the first opening sequence, and Falstaff and Prince Hal do their impressions of the king, with a pillow for a crown.

The story is narrowed down into just this Boars-Head Tavern, the action is close and not restricted to the stage, the performers move inbetween us, bolshie and unashamed like real pub behaviour. The pub is a place for mockery and storytelling safe from the outside world, for jokes and jabs and mishaps, and this pub is no exception.

Mistress Ford and Mistress Page have both been sent text messages from Falstaff, they hang by the bar, handbags in hand and handkerchiefs around their heads (both played by men, one with a full beard). They exclaim revenge on Falstaff for trying to play them both. The old trick of moving Shakespeare into the present is somewhat of a cliché, but in this atmosphere of pub foolery it’s suited. Falstaff is blind folded and caught red handed, we the pub goers are handed silly string canisters and water pistols and in a roar of jeering attack Falstaff with full pelt! It is so much fun as Falstaff runs around the crowd getting soaked and silly string flies all over the pub. The audience is in hysterics.

The story turns to war and an army must be made – Mouldy (an audience member in the middle of the room is stood up and named), Shadow (a lady at the front is deemed shadow) and feeble (a man in the corner is coined the lady’s tailor) and they are all recruited. Now is the time for war and using King Henry V speech to encourage his troupes to take the French town of Harfleur, we are moved into position and given party poppers and we stand to attention; ‘But when the blast of war blows in our ears, then imitate the action of the tiger!’ King Henry bellows, to be echoed in French (but not really French) but another performer to extreme comic affect. The audience are all in a dither, some pointing party poppers menacingly, some hovering over a balloon with a sharp fork, some just hysterically giggling. Balloons are released into the room and war breaks out! Balloons are bashed on heads and party poppers released, more water and silly string, we are somewhere between a kids party and later hours of a wedding.

The performers where tracksuit tops, jeans and hoodies over their heads, Falstaff in particular wears a bright red puma jacket and so when it is brought in alone stuffed into a box, we know he is dead. The cast laid his jacket on the bar and in chorus sung acapella. It is moving as it is well connected to the everyday action of wakes that we have all experienced in the atmosphere of a pub.

The audience where so mixed in age, it seems this Shakespeare mix up attracts a varied crowd. It was clear some people had a great knowledge of the text as they muttered along with it, but I would say that it is also accessible to those who aren’t heavily experienced in his plays. The jovial nature and strong ale house context carries it. Falstaff’s character takes centre stage, as the life and soul of the party, as a figure that is timeless: the lovable drunk. The piece could have excelled with more convincing acting, an actual functioning bar and if it really was at midnight! Overall a well adapted piece that brings the audience together and out of themselves, beautiful music, singing and great storytelling – a whole heap of fun!

Published