The Complete Deaths

Five Stars

Theatre Royal Brighton, New Road, until Sunday, May 15, call 01273 709709.

YOU wouldn't have thought a show about death and William Shakespeare could leave you screaming with rollicking laughter.

But The Complete Deaths did just that.

The four top class and ever-likeable clowns from theatre company Spymonkey, along with writer Tim Crouch, started with the simple idea of performing all 74 on-stage deaths across Shakespeare's plays back to back for the Brighton Festival.

Spymonkey increase the number to 75 as they include the "black ill-favoured fly" from Titus Andronicus, which stars on the production’s poster and becomes a motif throughout.

With constant stabbings, suicides, murders and executions, it doesn't exactly sound like a side-splitting comedy.

A central narrative ties the bombastic mishmash of death together with Toby Park playing the grumpy but likeable purist lambasting his infantile colleagues' antics as they turn Shakespeare into a farce.

It is a show jammed to bursting point with top notch quickfire gags, ranging from the slapstick to the visual and musical.

Indeed, each scene gives its selection of deaths a high energy absurd makeover.

Each outrageous variety-show esque spectacle earns its laughs as the production moves seamlessly between Shakespeare’s slaughter and self destruction.

The four Spymonkey jesters are each a joy, with their prescribed zany personalities shining through.

Meanwhile there is the disapproving, deadpan and tetchy Toby, the puerile Petra, who feet-stampingly demands they feature the offstage death of Ophelia, endearing oaf Stephan, who proudly struts on to stage in a fly consume.

Amidst the tomfoolery some pure Shakespeare does manage to break out occasionally.

The Bard's words retain their power and poetry even when sandwiched between the constant capers and chaos.

This delightful send-up to the Bard was often crude, often vulgar, always daft, but also completely and utterly joyous.

It somehow manages to make a mockery of and celebrate Shakespeare's legacy at the same time.

Henry Holloway