Marking their eighth year of residency at London’s Leicester Square Theatre, Sh!t-faced Shakespeare® has announced the full cast of drunkards and rogues who’ll be performing in the revival of their inaugural production at the venue, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, opening on 10 July until 7 September, before heading off on a UK tour.
14 years ago, Sh!t-faced Shakespeare® set out on the world’s longest bar crawl and have been staggering from theatre to theatre ever since. From Edinburgh to Australia, Boston to Southend, this bunch of irreverent drama queens have been shaking up The Bard, performing to sell-out crowds and most importantly, making people roar with laughter ever since.
This year, Sh!t-faced Shakespeare® are pouring their legendary cock-eyed chaos into the Bard-shaped vessel that is A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Think drunken donkeys, fandangled fairies and mullered mechanicals… it’s hard to imagine anything more magical, right?
Each night, a rotating cast member will get seriously Shakespeareanly sloshed and attempt to perform A Midsummer Night’s Dream as you have never seen before. Making for a different show every night, nobody (not even the cast) knows in which direction the show will stumble. Come and get fuddled in the forest with us!
The full cast will be Julia Bird (SIX: Shots of Vodka Later, Bingin’ in the Rain, A Little Night Cap) as ‘Puck / Hermia’, Natalie Boakye (2:22 – Time for a Drink?, King Beer) as ‘Oberon / Helena’, Eugene Evans (Death of an Ale Man, The Tiger Who Came for Long Island Iced Tea) in the roles of ‘Lysander / Demetrius’, Charlie Keable (The Phanton of the Opera Bar, Back to the Future: The Boozical) as ‘Puck / Lysander’, Princess Donnough (Annie Get Your Gin, Romeo & Mint Julep, WICKED BLUE) as ‘Helena / Hermia’, John Mitton (The Wizard of Ouzo, Disney’s Frozen Margarita, West Cider Story) as ‘Lysander and Demetrius’, James Murfitt (Kinky Booze, Starlight Expresso Martini, A Pissedmas Carol) as ‘Oberon / Demetrius’, Stacey Norris (This is Going to Hurt: Hangover Edition, Eastenders: Get In My Pub, A Chorus Wine) as ‘Helena / Oberon’, Beth-Louise Priestley (The Importance of Drinking Earnestly, The Worst Hangover: Nominated (Method) Actress, Sh!t-faced Shakespeare: The Full Series) and Stephanie Simpson (The Hungover Games, A View from a Bar) as ‘Puck / Hermia’. King Beer) as ‘Oberon / Helena’,
Following the production’s run in London, the show will tour the UK visiting Princes Hall, Aldershot (26 September), Stratford Play House, Stratford-upon-Avon (27 September), Palace Theatre, Southend (1 October), Wyvern Theatre, Swindon (2 October), Blackburn Empire Theatre (3 October), Storyhouse, Chester (4 October), The Albany Theatre, Coventry (5 October), Tivoli Theatre, Wimborne (8 October), Shanklin Theatre, Isle of Wight (9 October), The Capitol, Horsham (10 October), Corn Exchange, Ipswich (11 October), The Exchange, Twickenham (12 October), Lichfield Garrick (15 October), Lawrence Batley Theatre, Huddersfield (16 October), Middlesborough Theatre (17 October), Scarborough Spa (18 October), The Exchange, Twickenham (19 October), Lyceum Theatre, Crewe (23 October), Lincoln Arts Centre (24 October), Tyne Theatre & Opera House, Newcastle (25 October), The Cresset, Peterborough (26 October), Westlands Entertainment Venue, Yeovil (30 October), The Haymarket, Basingstoke (31 October), Farnham Maltings (1 November), New Theatre Royal, Portsmouth (2 November), Norwich Theatre Playhouse (3 November), Komedia, Bath (5 November), Royal & Derngate, Northampton (6-7 November), Chelmsford Theatre (12 November), Exeter Corn Exchange (13 November), Taunton Brewhouse (14 November) and The Kenton Theatre, Henley (15 November).
Stacey Norris, producer and director said, “Since 2016, Leicester Square Theatre has been the proud host of Sh!t-faced Shakespeare® much to the disbelief of both ourselves and the discerning critics of London’s theatre circuit. Surprisingly, we’ve yet to receive an eviction notice and we’ve grown so accustomed to the venue that the bar stools bear the unmistakable imprint of our collective derrières. This year, we’re thrilled to revive our inaugural production at the theatre: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, featuring a brand-new cast of characters, fresh scenes, and rejuvenated livers. Join us as we embark on another inebriated adventure in the enchanted forest!”
The production was originally directed and adapted by Lewis Ironside, with the new production being directed by Stacey Norris, produced by Johanna Rigg, Stacey Norris and Beth-Louise Priestley for Leicester Square Theatre, dance choreography by Beth-Louise Priestley, fight choreography by Robbie Capaldi, lighting design by Tom Williams, set design by Nicola Jones, costume design by Lorna Jean Costumes, photography by Andrew AB Photography, marketing by Tom McGregor, PR by ANRPR, finance by Fiona Hennessey and based on an original concept by Rev. Lewis Ironside and Cpt. Chris Snelson.
Listings and ticket information can be found here
