A MINGLED YARN

FINGER FOOD: Callum McConnochie (left), Arthur Haereroa and Tyler Krutz turn the human pie scene from Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus into a cooking show in a rehearsal for Evolution Theatre Company's upcoming production of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare. Picture supplied.

Drizzled with dismemberment and cannibalism, Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus is presented as a wickedly funny cooking show in Evolution Theatre Company's upcoming production of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare.

The story of Othello, a Moorish warrior cruelly tricked into murdering his lover, is presented as a rap song while the histories are acted out through an American football game with the British Crown as the football.

There is a lot of Shakespeare to cram into the play's one-and-a-half hours and by the end of act one, the characters realise they have forgotten to perform Coriolanus. One of them refuses to do it anyway due to the vulgarity of the title.

It is now interval and we have hardly scratched the surface of the mayhem and madcap antics in this high-energy, three man show.

The fast-moving comedy requires quick costume, wig and prop changes. Along with multiple wigs and 70 costumes, 58 props are required for the production. Because the actors play multiple characters, more hands wait backstage than are in the show itself.

The pace and physicality of the production is a good fit for the three young actors.

“I'm working the cast and crew hard,” says director Elizabeth Boyce.

“Callum McConnochie played Mercutio in Unity's Romeo and Juliet and about four years ago, his Shakespeare festival group did scenes from The Tempest which got them to a national event in Wellington.”

Judges were so impressed with McConnochie's performance as Miranda, the daughter of an island-bound exile, they created a special award for him.

“He created a character,” says Boyce.

“He was unaffected and totally natural but he's also great at going to the top and over it. Happily, that is perfect for him in this play. It's very off the wall.”

Joining McConnochie in The Complete Works is Tyler Krutz who won the best student director category which made him eligible for the schools' national Shakespeare festival.

“He does wonderful, physical comedy. If you need someone to fall down or to be kicked in the balls, he's the man.”

The third man in the cast is Arthur Haereroa who walked into auditions cold, says Boyce. Haereroa took on some smaller roles in high school productions but he is very keen and auditioned well.

“He is the ‘straight man' in the show, the so-called intellectual of the group who is trying to convey the seriousness of Shakespeare. Because the show is such a comedy, you need a straight man to set up the jokes..”

The fourth wall is non-existent in this play. The actors are known by their real-life names; they speak directly to the audience for much of the play, and the director and stage crew might also be directly involved in the performance and become characters themselves.

Much physicality is involved in the production, says Evolution Theatre Company founder, and the show's production manager, Dinna Myers.

“Everyone is running full tilt. The play is fast-paced and mad-cap. It doesn't matter if you don't know Shakespeare. It's a huge piss-take.”

The Complete Works not only parodies Shakespeare's plays, but the pompousness among some academics that often accompanies them. The three characters make claims to be Shakespeare scholars, but it becomes obvious they don't know a lot about the playwright or his works.

“They start out trying to take it seriously,” says Myers.

“Then it all goes to hell. It turns out having that youthful energy on stage is great for the show.”