Chatting to a passport holder, Cathy Forbes, last night has prompted her to write this great review which I didn't just want to languish in the comments section of 'Today at The Wrack' so have reposted here:

SHAKESPEARE SANS FRONTIERES

Review by Cathy Forbes Be transported to a new country – the cultural Republic of Borduria. This cosy cafe-cum-theatre in Hoxton, like the past it audaciously updates, is indeed a foreign nation, strangely haunted by shadowy actors from the cutting-edge Retz Theatre Group, and ruled by Shakespeare’s living ghost. The current offering of this talented young group of experimental artists is a series of short playlets based on excerpts from The Tempest. The energetic young actors know their Shakespeare and the shows make a perfect introduction for the uninitiated as well as an intellectual treat for conoisseurs. Retz’s bold injection of contemporary context includes modern musical and visual effects like computerised Shakespearean text scrolling eerily down a thought-provoking telescreen. Despite the modern touches, paradoxically the dark shabby chic urban decay atmosphere of this bijou theatre provides the perfect setting for timeless truth; Shakespeare’s understanding of human misery echoes across the centuries. The convincingly drunken actors demonstrate utter existential desperation – guaranteed to give confirmed pessimists in the audience a warm feeling of fellowship. Director Felix Mortimer avers that the main character of “O Brave New World” is the space. Indeed, the economy of space of “The Wrack” produces the kind of enforced creative interactivity that makes people think. To stimulate thought is to pass the acid test of artistic success, and in this Retz certainly succeeds. For me, however, the real star of the show was Shakespeare. At 297 Hoxton Street, you and the Bard get real intimacy. Unlimited by bodily borders and untrammelled by his off-shuffled mortal coil, Shakespeare’s spiritual energy explodes directly in your face. For performance times:- http://www.Retz.co.uk