O, Canada! The Bard is ribbed and revered at Ontarioβs Stratford festival
The side-splitting Something Rotten! fondly mocks Shakespeare and musicals at the annual arts jamboree celebrated for both. It is a witty accompaniment to fresh takes on Romeo and Juliet, Twelfth Night and Cymbeline
Something is rotten in the province of Ontario. It is the second number of the tentpole musical at Canadaβs Stratford festival, the Shakespeare jamboree that has celebrated the British Bard of Avon for more than 70 years. This is a town where a street, a school and a pet hospital are called Romeo. But whatβs that I hear? βGod, I hate Shakespeare!β fumes the fellow on the revolutionary thrust stage of Stratfordβs Festival theatre, asking how βa mediocre actor from a measly little townβ managed to become βthe brightest jewel in Englandβs royal crownβ. The sacrilege rages on as the showboating Bard himself strides on to hog the spotlight for the song Will Power, and the βsultan of sonnetsβ brandishes a huge quill like a mic and shamelessly flirts with fans.
Bawdy, barmy and almost incessantly hilarious, Something Rotten! is the standout show of the 2024 Stratford season, fusing the festivalβs two major traditions of Shakespeare and musical theatre. This Renaissance tale of budding playwright brothers Nick and Nigel Bottom (Mark Uhre and Henry Firmston), toiling in the shadow of the all-conquering Shakespeare (Jeff Lillico), picked up 10 Tony award nominations on its premiere in 2015 including best score (for brothers Wayne and Karey Kirkpatrick) and best book (co-written by longtime Guardian columnist John OβFarrell). Despite such success, it has inexplicably taken almost a decade for it to receive a UK premiere β but now a concert version will be staged for two nights at Londonβs Theatre Royal Drury Lane in August.
Continue reading...Β© Photograph: Ann Baggley
Β© Photograph: Ann Baggley