To celebrate the end of Zombiedelphia Month we went to see the Plays & Players production of William Shakespeare's Land of the Dead. Detailing the zombie invasion of 1599, where notables of the time take refuge in the newly built Globe Theater while London is under undead siege, this is actually a well-researched, smart and clever little play. Seriously, zombies aside, somebody really knows their Shakespeare. The controversy of who really wrote what and how much 'borrowing' the bard did from experience and people he knew and work he saw and read is center stage here, with just a bit of living dead horror thrown in just for kicks.
I really loved this. The midnight show featured free drinks for those who dressed as zombies, and to be sure, the audience would have made George Romero proud. Like a Rocky Horror experience, the production was interactive with zombies in the audience and blood (Karo, peanut butter and chocolate syrup) being spilled and spurted from the stage. Luckily for the squeamish, plastic sheets were provided for folks in the first couple rows - the splatter zone.
Cast standouts include Ryan Walter as the boisterously entertaining Will Kemp, Molly Casey as Kate Braithwaite, and special props to Jacqueline Halloway who choreographed the fight and dance scenes. yes, there was a bit of zombie-fighting but the prize of the show was the finale to Michael Jackson's "Thriller." After all, what better way to end any undead production than "Thriller." Dazzling!
Just to clarify, Jacqueline Holloway did a great job as Fight and Dance captain, but she did not in fact choreograph. Fight Choreography was done by Owen Timoney and Shoshanna Hill, while dance Choreography was done by Jillian Hernandez. Thanks for the great review!
ReplyDeleteDude. I so want to see this play.
ReplyDeleteI know this is an old post, but it's funny there are a lot of people taking the Youtube video of the zombie invasion seriously.
ReplyDeletehttp://walkingdeadinfected.com/was-there-really-a-zombie-invasion-in-london-in-1599/