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“Shakespeare’s dramatic story of ambition turned bad is brought vividly to life in Oddsocks’ hilarious new musical adaptation,” said the blurb.
I admit I had baulked at the idea of a "Steampunk-style comedy musical" version of my favourite Shakespeare play, but five minutes into this creative, anarchic and genuinely funny production my misgivings seemed like a tale told by an idiot, signifying nothing.
The classic scenes and speeches so familiar from my A-Levels all those years ago had the audience (including me and my teenage daughter) laughing their collective socks off in BOAT’s beautifully-constructed outdoor space with a cleverly adapted steampunk backdrop.
Incongruous slapstick comedy and modern chart-based songs are not something you would expect to sit alongside arguably Shakespeare’s darkest play but it didn’t just work, it felt like something magical and creative with such a likeable, talented, musical cast.
Clearly nothing is sacred to the Oddsocks crew: even Macduff’s reaction to the news about the murder of his wife and children was given a comic twist that can't be given away. I know it sounds so wrong but it was a pure tonic – particularly in such uncertain times, alluded to more than once.
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