Funk It Up About Nothin'

Quick! Go see this show -- it closes next Sunday before heading off to Edinburgh. I know, I know, it sounds hackneyed ("Hey, Shakespeare was a sort of poet! Rappers are sorts of poets! Let's rap Shakespeare!"), but it's not. It's actually kind of amazing. Not only is it insanely fun, it's very very smart. This isn't just a rap version of Shakespeare; it's (and I think this is what most of the detractors are missing) a mash-up of Shakespeare and hip hop. Neither of the two is more important and each is used to serve the other. There are as many in-jokes and plays on hip hop past and present as there are on Shakespeare. If you enjoy either Shakes or rap, you'll have a blast at this show. If you enjoy both, you can't afford to miss it.

The Q Brothers have won another convert for life. I'm pissed that I never got a chance to see The Bomb-itty of Errors, but they've still got almost an entire oeuvre to go. And you can bet I'll be first in line for A Mad-summer's Night Dream.

P.Rekk
2008