By Nick Pilgrim
“One day can change your life. One day can ruin your life. All life is, is three or four big days that change everything.”
Riding in Cars with Boys (2001)
It would be fair to say that William Shakespeare is the most famous playwright of all time.
In my fifteen years as a critic, I have had the privilege to review a solid handful of his works including Edward II, Macbeth, The Merry Wives of Windsor, and Much Ado About Nothing.
That Shakespeare’s output is now public domain, has allowed the likes of West Side Story (based on Romeo & Juliet) or Kiss Me Kate and Ten Things I Hate About You (each based on The Taming of the Shrew) to continue his influence for generations to come.
Such is his powerful reach.
Rob Lloyd is a man of many hats. His vast and varied list of credits has made him a mainstay on the Fringe and Comedy Festival scene. He is also an expert-level improv artist with appearances including Thank God You’re Here, which goes a long way to explain his comfort level on stage.
In this compact yet dynamic staging, Lloyd details how Shakespeare has influenced his adult life.
A chance reading from his secondary school English teacher in fact becomes a lightning bolt moment. Lloyd points out that anyone familiar with the film, Dead Poet’s Society, will understand the importance of that pay it forward scenario.
Beyond his primary impact, Lloyd’s fascinating story is a timeline of key people and episodes which eventually bring him to where he is now.
This show is as much of what Shakespeare means to the performer as a resource, as well as a deconstruction of his own social and professional choices. (Perhaps the most telling aspect of this presentation is how Lloyd used the isolation of extended lockdowns four or five years ago to write the show we are seeing.)
Raw and real in its honesty, Lloyd is as candid about his career triumphs as well as his personal failures in equal measure. In and under the spotlight, one could say Shakespeare is a vehicle for in-depth analysis into his own behaviour. So, it makes perfect sense that acting the class clown at school, is the catalyst for Shakespeare’s Fool.
The show’s concept is deceptively simple, and Lloyd expands on why this topic is of interest to both himself and should be to the audience as well.
Lloyd details how notable actors such as Simon Callow (Being Shakespeare) and Steven Berkoff (Shakespeare’s Villains) paved the way for him with one-man experiences of their own. He also highlights the key similarities and differences between Shakespeare’s clowns (who lack self-awareness) and fools (who often hold court as the narrative compass).
Lloyd showcases his favourite clowns and fools from Puck to Touchstone, sprinkling the experience with extracts and quotes from these various characters. Tying them back to his own story makes the journey that much richer.
As an adjunct to his enthusiasm, Lloyd includes a volunteer-driven segment which is an unexpected delight. Picking audience members to join him on stage for a short scene from Much Ado About Nothing, we can see the artist in complete flight mode.
Taking full advantage of the appropriately named Bard’s Apothecary and its intimate space, Lloyd is loose, playful, relaxed and focussed. In short, he owns the room. (I kept thinking throughout the show how this kind of easy-going history lesson would make the ideal addition to any touring festival circuit calendar or secondary school education program.)
As much an investigation of Lloyd’s passion for Shakespeare as his journey to an authentic self, this is as much a love letter to The Bard as it is to the craft of acting, too.
