Theatre review: William Shakespeare’s Reservoir Dogs, St Martin’s Theatre

At first glance the combination of the Bard and Quentin Tarantino seems like an odd choice for a mash-up show. However, The Ghostlight League has shown in its previous adaptations of Aliens and Ghostbusters that it can make this work and William Shakespeare’s Reservoir Dogs does not disappoint. 

The show is a scene-by-scene retelling of the original movie with some small changes to the core story. The film is about a gang attempting a bank robbery, but it goes very wrong, and they start to suspect that one of their crew is a police informant. The play transports this story to Elizabethan England with the crew robbing a carriage using swords as opposed to guns.

Steven Hopley’s adaptation cleverly takes the original film’s dialogue and converts it into Shakespearean English, while also adding in extra parts for the show and some funny references to famous Shakespeare lines. This mostly works well, though at times it feels a little overwritten in its attempt to make the dialogue as authentic as possible. 

As the source material requires the depiction of violence and some tragic scenes, this poses a difficulty as the mash-up nature lends itself more to comedy, so it’s harder to make the dramatic scenes work. Audience members may be caught between laughing at the dialogue or being engaged in the human suffering. 

The ensemble cast does a great job of transferring their characters from the film into the world of the play, while also giving them the feel of characters that Shakespeare may have written.

Moments of parody are successfully switched to the tragic elements as are the movements between present and past flashbacks.

Set design consists of a tavern where the initial meetings between the gang take place, with a stage at the back for a band to play. The simple technique of projecting the location of a scene on the back wall enables the switching from the tavern location to the woods and back again without the need for any set changes. As only two locations are needed, this is a good solution and also helps keep the action moving as there are a lot of short scenes. Director Rob Lloyd does a good job of making it all work smoothly. 

The soundtrack to Tarantino’s film is one of the highlights of the original film and having a live band play versions of those classic tracks is an inspired move. These songs are also adapted into Shakespearean lyrics and the use of period-appropriate instruments and melodies creates a wonderful combination. It is worth the price of admission for the music alone. 

The show does have a couple of barriers to entry: it works much better if you have seen the original film, and it helps if you are comfortable with Shakespearean dialogue and have some knowledge of his plays. Otherwise, William Shakespeare’s Reservoir Dogs may be too difficult to follow. If you meet these two criteria, however, then this is a highly recommended play.

Read: Exhibition review: Lindy Lee’s Ouroboros and exhibition, NGA

This show is billed as the conclusion to the trilogy of Shakespeare/film mash-ups, but hopefully it isn’t the last time we see The Ghostlight League in action. 

William Shakespeare’s Reservoir Dogs by Steven Hopley
Irene Mitchell Studio, 44 St Martins Lane, South Yarra, Victoria 
Director: Rob Lloyd 
Producers: Cassandra Hart and Rob Lloyd @ The Ghostlight League
Musical Direction: Chloe Towan
Production Design: Cassandra Hart and Rob Lloyd
Costuming and Props: Donna Prince, Cassandra Hart, Rob Lloyd
Sound: Sandro Falce
Lighting: Patrick Slee
Cast: Cassandra Hart, Elysia Janssen, Rik Brown, Corey M Glamuzina, Jennifer Speirs, Donna Prince, Peter Mitrousis Kothe, Lore Burns, Liliana Braumberger, Zac Rose, Adam White, Chloe Towan

Tickets: $38.37-$43.66

William Shakespeare’s Reservoir Dogs will be performed until 2 November 2024.