REVIEW: (Un)Shakespearean Nightmares, GrimFest at Old Red Lion Theatre 15–17 August 2025
‘Revenge of the forgotten characters’ ★★★
Four hundred years after his death, some of Shakespeare’s most famous characters, like Hamlet, Romeo and Viola are bored with their stories and the lives their creator Shakespeare has allotted them. Meanwhile some of the Bard’s minor characters are fed up with living in the shadows and want to own and create their own stories.
And so we enter Shakespeare’s purgatory. Minor characters, led by Rosaline (the woman Romeo loved before he met Juliet), must compete to earn the right to become creators of their own destiny, with Shakespeare the judge and decider of their fate. However, they hatch a sinister plot to turn the tables on the Bard.
As farces go, the plot of (Un)Shakespearean Nightmares is as thin as you would expect. As with all farces, the plot was merely a mechanism on which to hang comedy. However, that was the problem with this piece. While the cast performed with gusto, and their energy kept the show going, the jokes weren’t funny enough.
The premise of the show was a great idea, but the writing needs more work. I hope the company go on to develop the show further. It had a lot of potential, and the cast formed a strong ensemble, but the writing let the show down.
Un)Shakespearean Nightmares,
GrimFest at Camden Fringe
Old Red Lion Theatre 15–17 August 2025
Box Office https://camdenfringe.com/events/un-shakespearean-nightmare/
Performer: Lauren Rowlatt, Jake Burlow, David Donnelly, Bianca Tornea, Bradley Lewis
Director: The Company
Mask Designer: Daniel Katsimbras
Production Company: Just Add Salt
Reviewer: Srabani Sen
Srabani is a theatre actress and playwright. As an actress she has performed at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse (The Globe), the Arcola, Southwark Playhouse, The Pleasance and numerous fringe theatres, in a range of roles from Shakespeare to plays by new and emerging writers. She has written several short and full length plays. Her play Tawaif was longlisted for the ETPEP Finborough award, and her play Vijaya was shortlisted for the Sultan Padamsee Playwrights Award in Mumbai.
