Imagine if Shakespeare's characters were real...

On a wet Thursday in London the Head of the American Fan Club and I, took a big red bus to World's End Place - home of the intimate Chelsea Theatre.

We had opted for a bit of fringe theatre over the West End and were very glad we did...

The Shakespeare Conspiracy was not only witty and thought provoking but brought Shakespeare bang up to date.   The premise of the play is that Shakespeare's characters are real and that the RSC, under the Artistic Direction of Oberon, is a branch of MI6! Shakespeare's villans have been locked up in the RSC 'fiction' world for over 400 years and only the last surviving descendant of William - a mere travel agent called Martin, can determine their fate.   

Faced with the decision between releasing the villans, led by Iago and his 'sister' Lady Macbeth or sealing up the divide between fiction and reality forever, Martin chooses to free the villans, thus potentially causing the end of the world! 

The play asks whether fiction is actually reality, or is our reality fiction and therefore how do we know the difference between the two? In a Matrixesque speech Martin suggests that Iago will end the world by taking away imagination because without imagination there is nothing. He fears that iconic plays such as Waiting for Godot will be ruined because  Godot will turn up 5 minutes in 'and they'll all be down the pub singing Danny Boy', not quite what Beckett was going for! Ironically this speech is purely Martin's imagination! 

The quick wit and comic timing of Benedict and Beatrice (straight out of Much Ado) together with some very well executed sword fights and an eclectic mix of Shakespearian characters and lines made this a fantastic watch. Loved that Capulet and Facebook were in the same line!

When Oberon told Martin about the idea that fiction could be reality, it reminded me of an earlier blog post: 'Feeling Philosophical', where I asked 'if fantasy does become reality what happens then?'  We now have our answer... the villainous characters in our fantasy will attempt to end the world by shutting down our imaginations - if you can't imagine the fantasy and the fantasy is the reality then there will be no reality!  Or will there??

Things to plug:

Panto season has begun at The New Wolsey Theatre in Ipswich with Sleeping Beauty - we've got our tickets - have you?

As essay writing kicks off contact the Black Cats and keep an eye on our Facebook and Twitter pages for some fantastic offers this side of Christmas!

P.S I was going to blog about a problematic toilet situations at USC but decided that you, like we deserved a better 'pissing' experience!