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HandleBards,
Polesden Lacey, Surrey, and at venues around the country until September 12
Cast: Jazz Harbour, Marianne Kelly, Meredith Lewis
Directed by Ellice Stevens
Running time: two hours including interval
The vocation of the HandleBards touring theatre company is to share a love of Shakespeare through sheer entertainment in settings that range from the classroom to country estates on summer’s evenings. That means comic relief prevails over tragic significance even when the chosen drama is The Scottish Play.
For every purist they offend, the HandleBards win at least as many converts by striking the balance between drawing out the potential for the ridiculous and retaining reverence for Shakespeare. They improvise and abridge, but they also faithfully retain major chunks of the original text and Shakespeare’s genius is so robust their zany antics are just a stress test he passes with ease.
Directed by Ellice Stevens, a cast of three equally strong women with infectious personalities begins by delivering three superbly weird sisters whose distorted heads pop through the cunningly designed fabric of their travelling tent.
We relish the atmosphere created by accordion, banjo chords and a drum beat and, in the case of the Polesden Lacey performance, rustling trees in the background, while the sisters jabber away prophetically.
They are still ringing in our ears when we are presented with the fatally wounded sergeant who prompted King Duncan’s demand “What bloody man is that?” that for centuries has amused schoolchildren and adults alike.
This bloody man has a comedy dagger “through” his head and entrails represented by a tangle of inner tubes, true to the HandleBards’ tradition of relying on bicycle parts as props in the spirit of economy, sustainability and effectiveness.
It would spoil the surprise to mention any of the comedy highlights later in the action, but it’s probably only fair to warn potential theatre goers that audience engagement is not necessarily voluntary. It’s also more than usually extensive. Past HandleBards tours have relied solely on pedal power. This time, the players are travelling the land in an electric van to allow them to take the bard to places they could not otherwise reach.
Macbeth,
HandleBards,
Polesden Lacey, Surrey, and at venues around the country until September 12
Cast: Jazz Harbour, Marianne Kelly, Meredith Lewis
Directed by Ellice Stevens
Running time: two hours including interval
The vocation of the HandleBards touring theatre company is to share a love of Shakespeare through sheer entertainment in settings that range from the classroom to country estates on summer’s evenings. That means comic relief prevails over tragic significance even when the chosen drama is The Scottish Play.
For every purist they offend, the HandleBards win at least as many converts by striking the balance between drawing out the potential for the ridiculous and retaining reverence for Shakespeare. They improvise and abridge, but they also faithfully retain major chunks of the original text and Shakespeare’s genius is so robust their zany antics are just a stress test he passes with ease.
Directed by Ellice Stevens, a cast of three equally strong women with infectious personalities begins by delivering three superbly weird sisters whose distorted heads pop through the cunningly designed fabric of their travelling tent.
We relish the atmosphere created by accordion, banjo chords and a drum beat and, in the case of the Polesden Lacey performance, rustling trees in the background, while the sisters jabber away prophetically.
They are still ringing in our ears when we are presented with the fatally wounded sergeant who prompted King Duncan’s demand “What bloody man is that?” that for centuries has amused schoolchildren and adults alike.
This bloody man has a comedy dagger “through” his head and entrails represented by a tangle of inner tubes, true to the HandleBards’ tradition of relying on bicycle parts as props in the spirit of economy, sustainability and effectiveness.
It would spoil the surprise to mention any of the comedy highlights later in the action, but it’s probably only fair to warn potential theatre goers that audience engagement is not necessarily voluntary. It’s also more than usually extensive. Past HandleBards tours have relied solely on pedal power. This time, the players are travelling the land in an electric van to allow them to take the bard to places they could not otherwise reach.
Barbara Lewis © 2026.
By Stephen McGrath • added recently on London Grip, performance, plays, theatre • Tags: Barbara Lewis, performance, plays, theatre