EDINBURGH 2010: BWW Reviews: SHAKESPEARE FOR BREAKFAST 2010/08/15

When I first heard about Shakespeare for Breakfast, described in the C Venues programme as an Edinburgh institution, I couldn't work out what all the fuss was about. Attempting to make Shakespeare relevant and interesting to young people is surely one of the least original theatrical premises possible. However, I finally got the chance to see Shakespeare for Breakfast this year, and discovered that it may be an unoriginal premise but they do it better than anyone else.

Each year Shakespeare for Breakfast retells a Shakespeare classic, and this year it's King Lear's turn to be dragged into the 21st century. The show begins with King Lear taking Chris Tarrant's role in a parody of Who Wants to be a Millionaire, where his three daughters are questioned on how much they love their father. This is followed by parodies of TV shows ranging from 'Got Wang's Fashion Disguise' to 'Britain is Valiant', each cleverly used to represent a scene from the original play. These are interspersed with musical moments, where the actors perform medleys of pop songs (both classic hits and recent favourites) with the lyrics reinterpreted to fit the tale.

The young cast is presumably made up of students, but the quality of acting is much higher than your average student performance, and the show as a whole could stand up against any professional production. Despite having never read King Lear myself, I didn't feel that I missed any of the jokes. Although I'm not very much the wiser of the storyline than I was before, I still think a school trip to see Shakespeare for Breakfast would be a brilliant way to get kids interested in the Bard, and it's great fun for adults too.

Shakespeare for Breakfast is at C Venues every day at 10am until 30th August.