3

	C venues - C (venue website) Theatre 1-13, 15-27 Aug, 10:00am-10:55am Reviewed by Alice de Cent
Family-friendly. Suitable for all ages.

Already an Edinburgh Fringe institution, Shakespeare For Breakfast takes on Romeo and Juliet this year. Cue pop culture references aplenty, a good helping of silliness, and coffee and a croissant thrown in.

The Shakespeare For Breakfast version of the star-crossed lovers’ tale features Montagues that wouldn’t be out of place in The Only Way Is Essex… and their arch-rivals, the Made In Chelsea style Capulets. Not to mention a nurse with a celebrity obsession, which verges on identity crisis. And a lifestyle guru Friar, who can’t get his clichés round the right way.

A talented cast deliver a fast-paced and energetic race through Shakespeare’s tragedy. This irreverent and unashamedly silly show has a lot of laughs to offer along the way – whether your tastes centre around love scenes made entirely of song lyrics, live sound effects that feature an unreasonable amount of birdcalls, or watching actors struggle through impossibly quick changes.

Be warned, this isn’t the smartest take on Shakespeare’s classic; the panto-style gags and topical references can err on the obvious side. But there’s enough of them to keep the laughs up throughout the show, and charm the wide demographic the show draws.

This year’s edition of Shakespeare For Breakfast is a fun hour of Shakespearean silliness, which will entertain fans of the Bard and TOWIE alike. What more can a person ask? Coffee and croissants, you say? Done!