With the show’s title named Booze & The Bard: Macbeth, I had a feeling this wouldn’t be your typical Macbeth play. As part of Perth’s annual Fringe Festival, five young actors bring a loose adaptation of Shakespeare’s infamous Macbeth to the stage.
Held at Four5Nine Bar at the Rosemount Hotel, a cosy little venue, the audience and the actors had no idea how the play would pan out. The concept reminded me a little bit of those “choose your own adventure books” where the reader’s choices determine the main character’s actions.
The play started off smoothly; all the standard lines are acted out with an injection of modern language sprinkled throughout (I loved this because, as someone who myself am not a big follower of Shakespeare’s plays, it made the play easier to follow and understand). When the play continued too smoothly, that’s when the actors shook things up a bit. There were drinking games (audience members could also participate if they wished), but either way, the actors are drinking throughout the play.
The major shakeup of the show was the spinning wheel. The spinning wheel had a variety of rules that the chosen actor had to follow when the tab landed on any of these rules, and this could happen at any moment throughout the entire show. The narrator would usually bring the spinning wheel to an audience member to spin.
For example, when it landed on ‘accent’ the chosen actor had to say his lines in an Irish accent for remainder of the play. I especially though it was funny when it landed on ‘western’ and the actor playing Macbeth, Ethan Milne, had to act out the rest of the play as though he was in a western movie, topping it off by wearing a poncho.
There were moments when the actors would be calling out ‘noooo’ when the spinning wheel was pulled out. I could feel their pain. It would not be easy to recite a Shakespeare play and then force put a spin on it at the last minute.
It’s ironic that Macbeth is actually a tragedy, but this show was far from tragic. The Booze & the Bard’s Macbeth, the Scotch Play was a fun, chaotic, silly, comedic retelling of a Shakespeare classic with many twists.
You certainly do not have to be a Shakespeare fan or understand Shakespeare to enjoy this show. It’s clear the actors were all having a lot of fun, and this naturally pulled the audience in.
If you are looking for a light-hearted show with plenty of laughs and, of course, drinking, then this is the show for you.
To book tickets to Booze & the Bard: Macbeth! The Scotch Play, please visit https://fringeworld.com.au/whats_on/booze-the-bard-macbeth-the-scotch-play-fw2025
This year’s Fringeworld Festival Perth runs from 17 January to 16 February. For more information, please visit https://fringeworld.com.au.
