Edinburgh Fringe 2026
Low Down
Hand Theatre from Bulgaria have brought their clown show to Edinburgh for its international premiere. At the heart of Shakespeare x 5 lies a simple idea: if a performance of Romeo and Juliet isn’t comprehensible to an audience, the actors will keep reinventing it until it does. Hand Theatre perform with childlike energy and creativity and make the bold claim that inflatable beach toys are all you need to stage Shakespeare. It’s a very funny show to watch (and to join in if you want, no pressure) although its more serious message doesn’t quite land.
Review
Two clowns, Kenny and Z, find themselves on an empty stage. Dressed identically – black dungarees, white tops, black bowler hats – they realise they have an audience to entertain but nothing rehearsed (a bad dream familiar to many performers!). What better play for clowns to choose than that barrel of laughs Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. With a series of inflatable props (who knew you could get blow up toy zimmer frames?) they embark on an absurd 30 minute canter through all the key plot points of this classic. You really don’t need to know the original to find this enjoyable as they heighten the drama and poke fun at the final body count brought about by the daft decisions of Shakespeare’s protagonists. Breathless, they are dismayed when the audience don’t seem able to respond to the Prince’s demand to know what has happened. Nothing for it, perform another version at top speed, then another with the audience taking the key roles, until Kenny and Z cram all 5 promised in the title. It is a very joyous hour of comedy. By the end Kenny and Z are irreverent with Shakespearean traditions, subverting the more pompous forms of theatre and attempting a diverse and inclusive Romeo and Juliet (unintentionally clumsy and needs a little more thought).
There is an epilogue which seems to present a more serious message about creating chaos and being anarchic. It asks if all the world’s a stage, then as actors shouldn’t we be breaking free, daring to live a life free from constraint? This doesn’t land, perhaps lost in translation. It could be a very powerful end and fulfil the clown’s brief to puncture holes in convention with absurd behaviour. However this section needs more clarity in its execution. The choice of the opening soliloquy from Richard III seems an indulgence and slightly hampered by an under-confident delivery. Some missed opportunities too to reflect contemporary concerns about the role of women in theatre and subvert the director/assistant relationship which is set up but not developed.
Although it might not fulfil all its ambitions, Shakespeare x 5 is a glee-filled hour to start your Fringe day off, suitable for adults and children alike, with lots of silly visual puns and a hearty dose of seaside postcard humour.
