Sparrow and Boyle delivering solo Shakespeare comedy performances in Whanganui

Travelling actors Katie Boyle and Alexander Sparrow are performing and directing their solo Shakespearean performances in Whanganui.

Playing a whole cast of Shakespearean characters may be a very tall order but Alexander Sparrow has the stature for the task.

During a half-hour conversation, he seamlessly introduces the characters of Benedick, Beatrice, and Don John, "the Bastard Prince" from Much Ado About Nothing.

Sparrow will be giving four solo performances of the play at Lucky Bar + Kitchen in Whanganui from tomorrow. There are 16 characters in the play and Sparrow must not only remember all their lines but give each one a unique voice and mannerisms - even the minor characters.

"Don John has a henchman and I have given him a slow, Napoleon Dynamite kind of delivery which allows a pause for me to change character.

"It's my first time doing this and it's really not as hard as I thought it would be."

And his director Katie Boyle is New Zealand's foremost expert on delivering solo Shakespearean performance.

She has now performed her unaccompanied The Merry Wives of Windsor, directed by Sparrow 36 times and a Whanganui audience was treated to the most recent one at Lucky last week.

Katie Boyle performing The Merry Wives of Windsor.

The two became friends while studying theatre at Victoria University although they grew up in the same Upper Hutt neighbourhood.

"Both being from Upper Hutt enables us to work together well," says Boyle.

"Although we weren't childhood friends and we went to different schools, we understand each other."

And now they travel together as Sparrow & Boyle Entertainment, keeping costs low and bookings high.

"We have a caravan and we go anywhere and everywhere," says Sparrow.

"We make friends along the way so we are offered places to park on return visits."

Throughout September he's been performing his "Sparrowthon" making stage and TV appearances as Donald Trump, the Marquis de Sade, pick-up artist turned motivational speaker Enigma and the tragic and lovable former male model Fred from Featherston.

Alexander Sparrow performing as DJ Trump.

Boyle also has a tragically lovable comic character - Pat Goldsack who runs a swingers club and brothel to keep her in comfort and Cameo Cremes in her old age.

While Sparrow has been building a career as a prolific character comic, Boyle has been cast in 11 Shakespeare productions during the past six years including playing two roles (Guildenstern and Laertes) in the all-female production of Hamlet at the Pop Up Globe in Auckland.

Casting herself to play all the roles for The Merry Wives of Windsor has given her huge satisfaction, she says.

"How else would I get the chance to play a fat, greasy old knight like Falstaff.

"It's not like anyone else would ever cast me in that role."

Both actors say they are able to perform anywhere but Lucky Bar + Kitchen is a particularly good venue.

"It has such a good, welcoming atmosphere and the fact that there is a bar there means you can relax and get comfortable before you perform," says Sparrow.

"Getting to chat with your audience beforehand really helps as well," says Boyle.

The actors have noticed how theatre audiences want to make connections with players on stage more than they once might have done.

"People have such ready access to so much good drama now with things like Netflix but I think it has created a yearning for live interactions," says Sparrow.

Boyle says she likes the way Shakespeare scripts allow for asides with the audience.

"Playing so many characters, I will sometimes address the wrong one.

"I might say Master Page when I am addressing Master Ford and there will be audience members who know the play and notice it so I incorporate my error into the performance and acknowledge it."

Both actors use minimal props and costumes for their performances which means less baggage for travelling but also works better for the audience, says Sparrow.

"It's distracting for the audience if you are removing a hat or putting on a cape."

Another great thing about Shakespeare's scripts, say the actors, is the way he set the scenes in the character's lines.

"The opening line of Much Ado About Nothing tells the audience they are in Messina."

Alexander Sparrow in Much Ado About Nothing: 7pm, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Lucky Bar + Kitchen, 53 Wilson St. Book at eventfinda.co.nz