Lunacy and genius
The Bard’s complete works packed within 90 minutes? Yes, you will get all that, with mouthfuls of the language too.
STRAIGHT after bringing tears to our eyes in Frank Mcguinness’ deeply moving Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me, Charles Donnelly, Kingsley Judd and Gavin Yap were running around to do it all over again.
The Compleat Wrks Of Wllm Shkspr (Abridged), however, is a far cry from the fight for sanity which left their previous three characters baring their souls as frightened hostages in a windowless Lebanese cell.
For over 400 years, the works of William Shakespeare have been studied, performed and reinterpreted; he had left his mark on painters, composers, psychoanalysts and the English dictionary.
“Shakespeare is arguably the greatest English playwright ever, (but) we sometimes wrongly regard his works as strictly for the elite. Nothing could be further from the truth,” says Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre (KLPAC) artistic director Joe Hasham.
Hasham thinks it’s time for a new generation of Malaysian theatregoers to experience the wit, and absurdity, of Shakespeare’s works.
And absurd they are. The 90minute Compleat Wrks, written by the former founding members of the Reduced Shakespeare Company, Daniel Long, Adam Singer and Jess Winfield, features all 37 of Shakespeare’s histories, comedies, romances and tragedies. Donnelly, Judd and Yap reprise 63 roles and bring forth the Bard’s genius in a manic, a-laugh-a-minute fashion.
Unlike Klpac’s recent Shakespeare Demystified, a gentle introduction to his works that carefully and respectfully leaves the elegance of his genius intact, there is nothing careful or respectful about Compleat Wrks. It opened in KL yesterday and will move to Penang next week.
A fitting summary would be to describe it as the equivalent of finding as many Shakespeare’s plays as possible, tossing them into the hands of three madcap, tights-strapped chefs, and watching them bake a giant, multi-coloured misshapen cake out of it.
Donnelly, a professional actor based in Glasgow, Scotland, says: “If you get stand-up comedy, improvisation, Monty Python and a bunch of four-year-olds playing, and stick all that together, it still won’t be anything near what the show is.”
The play was first performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 1987, and this was followed by an epic nine years at the Criterion Theatre in London. If the original script is anything to go by, we can expect to see the world’s shortest ever performance of Hamlet (43 seconds), Othello in rap, a soccer match for the crown, lots of audience participation and, possibly, a psychoanalysis of Ophelia’s subconscious.
Australian-based Judd, like any actor worth his salt, has of course “done” Shakespeare before. But what he relishes about this particular production is the huge challenge of it all.
“Trying to do all of Shakespeare’s works within that time frame, that’s something anyone’s gonna wanna have a go at!”
Even local theatre man Yap, who normally wouldn’t venture anywhere near comedy – an endeavour that always freaks him out – was wholeheartedly sucked into this.
“Comedy is one of the hardest things to do. But after two seasons of Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me with Kingsley and Charles, we’ve become pretty good friends. I love those guys, they’re the reason I’m doing this.”
Perhaps it is the raw and heartbreaking intensity of that play which has furnished them with the intimate working knowledge (of each other) that’s so essential to pull off the “organised chaos” that is Compleat Wrks .
This current production is very “technical”, says Yap. “It’s all about timing, light and sound cues.”
When you think about it, the entire spectacle is an extraordinary 180degree turnaround from where it all started.
Not only was the previous play dark, but Yap, Donnelly and Judd were complete strangers, living happily on three separate corners of the planet. That was before, one by one, they were summoned by Hasham.
Judd, who had just finished performing in an Australian production of Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me, was at home in Perth in 2010 when the telephone rang.
“It was out of the blue. He said, ‘It’s Joe Hasham’. I thought I knew the name but wasn’t too sure.”
Hasham was somewhat of an Australian legend back in the 70s for his long-standing roles in popular television series Number 96 and The Young Doctors.
“It was a little before my time,” Judd, 43, winks to a smirk from Donnelly, 58. “But when I told my mum and sister, they went, ‘Oh my god!’”
Hasham says it’s not every day that one gets to work with such a wonderful cast.
“They’re totally dedicated and committed to the job.”
He himself is respected as someone who really knows his theatre.
“He just gives you free rein to interpret the script as you see fit. If he thinks you’re maybe veering off the line a bit, he straightens you up. It’s just very organic,” says Donnelly.
This being the third production they have done together, surely everyone has learned something interesting about each other?
“Yes, that Gavin Yap is possibly one of the finest actors in Malaysia?” replies Judd with a shrug of sincerity.
And why should people come to see the play?
Judd scoffs at this: “It offers great value for money. Usually you go to the theatre and get one play. We’re not doing one, we’re not even doing two, we’re doing all of them!”
He adds that there are enough sections where the language is presented in its original form, to give people a taste of Shakespeare.
“I’m sure some of the audience will experience and take something away from that (the language). People have been doing his plays for over 400 years, there must be a reason why.”
Oh, just a warning – expect the fourth wall to be broken. Reserved as the average Malaysian viewer may be, Judd adds that when he watched the play many years ago, all he wanted to do was get involved.
And ready or not, Hasham says he has just the three actors who will make you ready.
“It’s sheer lunacy, the joy and energy of the play and its players – it’s a riot from start to finish.”
The compleat wrks of wllm Shkspr(abridged) is on at KLPAC, Sentul Park, Jalan Strachan (off Jalan Ipoh), Kuala Lumpur, till Saturday (8.30 nightly). Matinee shows on Saturday and Sunday, 3pm. The play will be staged at Penangpac, Straits Quay, on March 29 and 30 (8.30pm). Matinees on March 31 and April 1, 3pm. Tickets at RM48 and RM28. Log on to klpac.org/ or call 03-4047 9000 or 04-8991722.