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Latest items? Unedited? Fringe Report Uncut
William's Bit Of Help
Verdict: More Berk Than Bard With Deft Comic Touches
London - March 03
7.30pm Thurs - Sat until 15 March 03, Canal Café Theatre
What do we really know about the life of William Shakespeare? How did an under-educated provincial become England’s greatest literary genius? Was there a better-qualified contemporary who may have given him a ‘bit of help’?
This is such stuff as conspiracy theories are made on and now forms the heart of Philip Lunn’s debut comic play - William’s Bit Of Help.
With a simple yet effective set, we are transported to the London home of the Stratford playwright as he struggles to make his mark upon the Elizabethan stage. We find Shakespeare (Ben Tinniswood) sitting at his kitchen table writing snatches of verse that truly are the depth of sophistication. To leave us in no doubt that our William is more berk than Bard, he declaims his doggerel in a Brummie accent of industrial strength. His mistress Helen (played by Marianna Maniatakis), has escaped this tonal inflection thereby hinting at a different place of birth or, quite possibly, a keener intelligence.
When a dandyish visitor calling himself Robert Grantham (Peter Dawson) arrives unannounced and offers to write with the chronically talentless Shakespeare, we are left in no doubt as to the trajectory of the plot line. Could Robert Grantham perhaps be a historical figure with which we are familiar? Is his offer of help something other than an act of philanthropy? Will this all be revealed near the end?
The answers are, of course, yes. William’s Bit Of Help is not Shakespeare In Love meets Tales of the Unexpected. This Will has fewer plot strands than an episode of The Bill. It is, however, a very well-performed piece with deft comic touches mixed in with the broader humour. Despite the elongated vowels, Ben Tinniswood’s yokel Shakespeare is pitched just short of caricature, giving himself the space to generate sympathy as well as comedy, while Marianna Maniatakis is always more than the stock long-suffering companion that her character threatens to become. With more than a touch of Richard E Grant about him, Peter Dawson clearly enjoys his role of mysterious interloper and he patronises Shakespeare with wonderfully snooty disdain.
As for the script itself, writer / director Philip Lunn has wisely decided not to employ too much historical irony – those nods and winks to a Shakespeare-literate audience can irritate as much as they flatter. Rather he has tried to generate the humour from within the piece itself. They may not always go down the right way but at least all the gags here are grown organically. And when your subject’s dead famous, that’s never easy.
Credits: Cast (alpha order): Peter Dawson, Marianna Maniatakis, Ben Tinniswood. Collapsible kitchen cabinet - by Andrew Tierney. Costumes - Imperial Costumes. Production Manager - Lydia Lobo. Technical Manager - Jake Wiltshire. Written and directed by Philip Lunn.
END
Marc Blakewill
reviewed at Canal Café Theatre
(c) Marc Blakewill 10 March 03
Fringe Report (c) Fringe Report 2002-2012
www.fringereport.com
