By Sarah Skubala
Melt is an annual citywide festival celebrating queer arts and culture staged at 70 venues throughout Brisbane in October and November. DragSpeare: Drag Kings Do Shakespeare is one of the dazzling shows on offer, presented by PIP Theatre in association with Jo Loth Productions.
In short, this was a seriously fun night out. Cleverly staged as a show within a show, a fictitious touring drag cabaret act known as The Stallion Squad decide, one and a bit songs down, that their act needs classing up if they want to be seen as ‘more than just aubergine emojis.’ After some heated discussion, they decide to take on the works of William Shakespeare. What ensues is a light-hearted romp through some of the Bard’s most dramatic works, explored through scenes, monos and interspersed with well-known pop songs.
All of the best-loved dramatic works were featured, including Hamlet, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, Richard III and King Lear, and many beloved pop tunes were also covered including Gary Jules’ Mad World, Gotye’s Somebody I Used to Know and INXS’ Never Tear Us Apart.
The show’s strength was in the meta-style banter between the performers as they ‘Shake-splained’ the Bard’s material, namely, Rocky V Liquor’s first readings of the ‘Now is the winter of our discount tent’ speech from Richard III, or York Lit telling Rocky to ‘f***ing die’ during a key Macbeth scene. Swingin’ Dick’s obsession with jazz scatting was hilariously poked fun at, and Pan Teasetickle’s deadpan comedic timing as they explored the Bard’s work was excellent.
Each of the five performers also held key creative roles, with Pan Teasetickle’s Lucinda Shaw in the Director / Musical Director role, Biron Bothways’ Anne Pensalfini assisting with direction and on script as well as co-creating the show alongside Swingin’ Dick’s Jo Loth. Loth also produced with the assistance of York Lit’s Jules Berry, and all five performers (including Rocky’s Michelle Lamarca) were credited as co-creators.
Each king brought strong characterisation to their roles (and their program bios!) and provided some much-appreciated laughs and entertainment alongside some pretty iconic Shakespeare moments. The resulting 85-minute show was a damn good time, and the sold out, opening night crowd also concurred. There was Stallion Squad merch available for purchase after the show, and the cast was on hand for photo ops in the foyer.
DragSpeare: Drag Kings Do Shakespeare is a must-see highlight of the 2024 Melt Festival, with a limited season running until 9 November.
Tickets: https://www.melt.org.au/events/dragspeare-drag-kings-do-shakespeare/
Image: Joel Devereux
