THE hopelessly inaccurate biography of William Shakespeare at the start set the tone for the anarchic take on the work of the Bard.

Apparently, after marrying Anne Hathaway, he wrote Mein Kampf, invaded the Rhineland and was found dead in a Berlin bunker in 1945.

It parodied the assumption that the Canadian actors would not understand European history, nor grasp the work of England's finest playwright.

But as the audience found out, not only did they get the plots and meanings of his plays, they could also articulate long, complex sections from some of the better known works.

The idea is to condense all 37 plays into a 97 minute show, making 400-year-old works accessible to a modern audience. There are plenty of contemporary cultural references and actors constantly ad-libbed, keeping the audience interested throughout.

It is a concept that works very well and the result is a slapstick version of some of the great works of literature. Madcap humour makes it a laugh-a-minute production and the fast-paced script means the show moves along very quickly.

Two audience members were taken from their seats to the stage when one of the actors refused to play along, then bitched about their acting ability.

The entire audience was forced to join in - those who didn't had to do it on their own - and it would have been highly embarrassing if it wasn't so damn daft.

Bizarre but brilliant. See this show.

* Until Saturday. Box Office: 0870-905 5060.

Published: 30/06/2005