ShakeItUp: The Improvised Shakespeare Show – Gilded Balloon

With spontaneous sharp wit, wild rhymes and surprise pop culture references, Shake It Up Shakespeare pokes fun at the classic tragedies in this unpredictable and boisterous romp.

We are confronted with our first choice of a comedy, tragedy or history – after a resounding chant for tragedy, we are told to expect that everyone will, in true Shakespearean fashion, die. As we walk to our seats, we are given the option to write phrases and prompts for the cast to select at random throughout the play, with the power to change the entire course of the story. The result is hilarious chaos, with a murder being committed in Aisle 4 of an ASDA, Hamilton lines being freestyled for a 16th century audience (‘methinks I am not throwing away my shot’) and Auld Lang Syne celebrations thrown in. The audience’s suggestions are incorporated throughout by a cast that spontaneously integrates lines with barely any hesitation.

Today’s tragedy is titled ‘The Tragedy of Kate of Cumbernauld’. ‘Kate’ is selected to be our nemesis due to her mistreatment of employees and many HR complaints, after an audience member eagerly offers up her boss’ name. Our setting is the obscure Cumbernauld, shouted out by another enthusiastic audience member to many confused murmurs of Americans in the audience. With wild contributions from the audience’s paper slips, we get wacky and unpredictable confessions such as Kate’s sister Viola’s final gasping words being ‘I feel as though I could eat a steak and kidney pie.’

The cast’s dedication to channel Shakespeare’s tragedies in every which way resulted in surprise soliloquies, asides and characters being tormented by ghosts. Soliloquies were paired with darting spotlights in a comically theatrical fashion, where characters switch between lies and pretences to tell the truth to a bemused and fascinated audience. One character even gets called out by another for being duplicitous and doing too many asides. At the end we see our villain get haunted by her sister’s ghost, entering the stage to neon green lighting and cartoonish ‘aaaa’ noises. The experienced cast are clearly in their element, riffing off each other and freestyling, with slight mishaps and hesitations only adding to the hilarity. A few Shakespeare references are interwoven throughout, including a comically sincere rendition of ‘is this a dagger which I see before me’. All with Horrible Histories-esque humour, the finale sees the characters strewn on the floor, poking fun at the classic end of Shakespearean tragedies and characters wrought-out, over-dramatic deaths. Shake It Up Shakespeare is Shakespeare as never seen before, never taking itself seriously in an hour of ridiculous hilarity.

Reviewer: Juliette Pepin

Reviewed: 19th August 2025

North West End UK Rating: