Recently I seem to have had more exposure to Shakespeare than I have for many years, having seen productions of Hamlet, Macbeth, Richard lll (twice) and Twelfth Night in the last 12 months, as well as just coming from a long, heat-fuelled run of A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Barn Theatre. So I was intrigued to see what tips the CoPs Youth Group could provide for me for the future with their Mimic Theatre-partnered production of How to Survive Being in a Shakespeare Play by Don Zolidis.
This play is, in fact, the perfect comedic antidote to being exposed to, and appearing in, a surfeit of the Bard’s plays, in particular his tragedies. As the promo blurb advised, “Someday it’s going to happen. You’re going to find yourself on stage, wearing tights, and saying things in iambic pentameter. Face it, you’re in a Shakespeare play, and that means it’s a pretty good bet you’re going to DIE.” As the play opened, the audience held its collective breath when Martyn Leonard, as Richard lll, fell out of his tight spotlight as he dropped to the ground during his dramatically delivered ‘winter of discontent’ speech. However, when he proceeded to shuffle comically on his knees back into the spot, we realised we had been playfully blindsided by the director, Georgina Bennett.
Any doubts that we might not have been in assured hands were quickly dispelled. This skilfully choregraphed gag set the tone for the next 45 minutes as we were treated to a tight cast of six youngsters portraying the principal and often eponymous characters from a number of Shakespeare’s tragedies as they dreamt up increasingly inventive and amusing ways in which to stave off their inevitable sticky endings.
Particular highlights were the Harry/Meghan escape parody of Hamlet and Ophelia played by Ted Starkins and Zoe Wilkinson; Ellio Carubia’s Julius Caesar avoiding death by surrounding himself with an airbag of balloons; the three witches played by Ted, Toby Bickers and Charlotte Hillary with the latter’s swinging red hair being used to dramatic effect; Ted’s reluctant foot soldier in Henry V’s army (which reminded me of the Python character in Holy Grail who just ‘wants to sing’); and pretty much any scene involving Martyn who is clearly no shrinking violet and an assured talent for the future, if not the present.
Costumes (and quick changes) were both fun and fantastic – plenty of men in tights, tick – with transitions effected quickly and seemingly effortlessly. The performances were ably abetted by suitably professional lighting and soundscapes and I enjoyed watching the actors gain confidence through the show as they fed off a warm and appreciative audience on an equally warm evening. Occasionally diction was lost – this can happen when youngsters are so familiar with their lines that words can be rushed – but these were mostly few and far between. And, once or twice lines were either too softly spoken to be heard or too loud to be fully appreciated, but these were minor quibbles on an otherwise superb evening.
The final scene, where various characters’ deaths were upstaged by Martyn/Bottom/Pyramus’s protracted and ebullient demise, was an absolute joy, particularly when Ellio as Ophelia complained his/her pond drowning was off-, rather than on-, stage. A perfect way to ‘finish off’ the evening.
Congratulations to Georgina, her cast and all involved in this thoroughly entertaining evening showcasing future talent. I look forward to seeing some of these youngsters treading the boards (or at least the grass at Amores) again in the very near future.
How to Survive Being in a Shakespeare Play by Don Zolidis directed by Georgina Bennett for CoPs Youth Group in partnership with Mimic Theatre Company, played 27th-28th June 2025
