ELIZABETH Review - Almost by chance a woman

Elizabeth had a lot of Commedia dell Arte to use and keep the audience on their toes. The basic plot of this play was centred on the Queen and her inspiring way of looking at things. (Carol Burns) who plays the Queen has done a great job performing a paranoid crazed elderly woman. She displays herself with a lot of humour not just because of the costumes she wears or the actions she displays but also the bad things that come out of her mouth. (Sarah Kennedy) plays the Queens maid she is very loyal when it comes to helping the Queen with whatever she needs whether it be caring for the Queen by fetching things that the Queen might need or if she has to fend people off the maid is no shy one but when the maid is out on stage she always turns the attention back onto the Queen.

She wears a great costume making her role clear that she is there to serve the Queens every need and desire making sure that no one not even herself out shines the Queen. (Dash Krunk) is where all the slapstick comes from where he plays Thomas the court fool seems to be below everyone in a reputation level, well more like in every level which is also shown by the clothes he wears tights, shorts, t-shirt and a ratty hoodie opposed to others who are in beautiful gowns and suits he also manages to be getting slapped by almost everyone; even the maid gets a few hits. He has an amazing voice that brought the audience to a new point and he was able to bring a musical number in this production getting a few standing ovations. After I thought this play had everything I was always surprised with what happened next (Dash Krunk) also showed nudity in this performance leaving audience members shocked and astounded.

(Jason Klarwein) who plays chief of police and is meant to be protecting the Queen at all times it was a shocking revelation to find out that the whole time he was actually secretly plotting her destruction. Hoping that after her demise he would be able to sway people to Catholicism. He was very humorous with the actions he displayed rather than the things he said. It was great to have surprises in this production made it more exciting than it already was. (Eugene Gilfedder) is the most weirdest kind you can get he/she is very witty she/he displays herself/himself with jewellery, pink dresses that are worn far too low that she/he is showing cleavage being completely aware of it too. She/He puts on a posh voice making people seem that she/he is very mature and polite then when the conversation starts  the audience cannot understand a word that comes out of her/his mouth trying to make sense of it all  the only time you can make sense of what is being said is when you catch one of the swear words that is being thrown out knowing that whatever he/she is talking about, it is probably not a good thing.

The setting of the stage was pretty spectacular with the Queens bed centred in the middle of the stage and royal curtains hanging above them. Then there was the large rocking-horse on the right hand side of the stage and the make-up table kit on the left there was also an opening on the stage for the pianist who was also able to be included and be a part of the play adding humour. They also used the style in drama about breaking the forth wall and communicating with the audience. Making us feel like we were included as well, they were able to remain in character and still talk to us in the audience. Because this play was a long story literally we were also guaranteed a twenty minute interval just after a song performance given to us by (Dash Krunk).

Towards the end of the performance things became sadder and more realistic for the Queen as the things she loved slowly started to fade away the as Queen repeated to herself over and over asking “Am I still Queen?” first the people in her life were no longer with her, the gown and crown she wore were no longer on her it was replaced by a white night gown, the colourful room she was in was just now a white room and the Queen bed which was the main centre piece of the stage was no longer on stage it was replaced by a white hospital bed making the scene seem to have a depressing ending towards this play. This play was an enjoyable play for everyone which is why many people experienced so much laughter towards this play due to the sarcastic comments, the slapstick that was involved, the commedia dell arte and the costumes that was worn by all the actors and actresses who performed. The lights and music also had a very different effect on how you look at things like when the lights dimmed and there was a spotlight on the Queen without her bed or her crown you knew it was a sad moment and you couldn’t help but feel bad for her. The music that was played when (Dash Krunk) was performing to with the help of the pianist was wistful and calming which gave a good, relaxing moment to that scene in particular where things seemed almost perfect.  

This performance was never dull nor was it predictable there was always a moment where I was surprise by the outcomes they had, the props they used and even what they were used for. There are a lot of people I would recommend this play to friends and family members. I would not advise younger generations to see this play due to the strong language, mild violence and nudity displayed in this performance but it is defiantly a play worth seeing.