The Great Shakespeare Showdown – theSpace @ Surgeons’ Hall

The Great Shakespeare Showdown is a brisk, crowd-pleasing slice of Fringe theatre that knows exactly what it is: a daft, affectionate celebration of Shakespeare, showmanship and frontier bravado. Set in Leadville, Colorado, in 1882, Dennis Elkins’ comedy imagines a town so besotted with the Bard that its silver miners can quote him as readily as they can swing a pickaxe. It is a wonderfully odd premise, and the production leans into that oddness with infectious confidence.

The show’s central contest pits English thespian Sir Charles GoodKnight (Dan Morrison) against American stage star Harriet Twelvetrees (Kate Poling) in a verbal shoot-out of quotations, insults and theatrical one-upmanship. Around them, Billy (Mel Schaffer) acts as master of ceremonies, inviting the audience to cheer, hiss, boo and test their own knowledge. The clever use of props in the audience and the allocation of characters to audience members pulls us all into the Shakespearian rumble.  That participatory element gives the piece much of its energy. At its best, the room feels less like a formal theatre and more like a lively saloon where everyone has been handed a part in the joke.

The writing is strongest when it allows Shakespeare’s language to collide with Wild West swagger. The result is knowingly silly but rarely careless: the best exchanges have the rhythm of a duel, with each performer drawing a line, firing back and waiting for the audience’s response.

What makes the production especially enjoyable is its generosity. It never treats Shakespeare as homework or the audience as outsiders. Instead, it invites everyone into the game, whether they can identify every quotation or simply enjoy the absurdity of grand verse being flung around a mining town. The period setting is sketched with broad comic strokes—clean spittoons, rowdy locals, theatrical rivalry—but it provides enough colour to make the conceit memorable.

Hats off to Morrison (GoodKnight), who gasps and splutters without saying a word to articulate his pompous distain at this meagre challenge from Poling (Twelvetrees) with her sassy, confident strut. Schaffer (Billy) deftly dances between the two duellists to provide the glue for this Western classic and proves a worthy thespian.

In a Fringe programme crowded with earnest reinventions of classics, The Great Shakespeare Showdown stands out by being light on its feet and fully committed to fun. It is not a radical reimagining of Shakespeare, nor does it try to be. Rather, it is a witty, good-natured romp that understands the pleasure of performance itself. For lovers of wordplay, playful audience interaction and Bardic buffoonery, this showdown is well worth saddling up for. But only available for one more day.

The Great Shakespeare Showdown runs until the 22nd August at 3.10pm. Come along to the gunfight at The Haldane Theatre at theSpace @Surgeons’ Hall.

Tickets available at www.edfringe.com  

Reviewer: Ross Mackie

Reviewed: 21st August 2026

North West End UK / Theatre Muse UK Rating: