After Shakespeare – theSpace @ Surgeons Hall

An hour-long monologue from Lexi Wolfe giving a 21st-century spin on the motivations for, and reactions to, the fates that Bard wrote them.

First up – Henry V (or Prince Hal as he’s known to his drinking friends), clearly suffering from PTSD following the Battle of Azincourt) and haunted by the ghosts of civilians and soldiers he had seen massacred. Then came Hamlet, marooned in Purgatory and still procrastinating whilst pulling apart the piratical plot holes in Shakespeare’s masterpiece, and adding a gay subtext with Laertes for good measure.

Portia arrived swiftly to confess her cross-dressing. Balthazar had given her a taste for it, and she carried on after Shylock’s trial. And finally, a sinister Lady Macbeth who confesses her real motivation for Duncan’s death and her subsequent suicide, not at all what Shakespearean scholars would have us believe.

Whilst none of the four were uniformly successful, it was obvious considerable research had gone into developing the storylines and Wolfe gave a convincing presentation in all four different guises. Delivered in a convincing pseudo Elizabethan style with only brief pauses for simplistic costume changes, she held the audience’s attention for the entirety as all four characters.

A prior knowledge of the plays is probably a necessity to appreciating this fast-paced show and some of the arcane references elicited chuckles from the cognoscenti present. Worth a visit for lovers of Shakespeare.

Reviewer: Paul Wilcox

Reviewed: 9th August 2025

North West End UK Rating: