Those of you who think that Shakespeare can only be staged on an epic scale would have been very pleasantly surprised with this version of Shakespeare’s comedy, Two Gentlemen of Verona. WhatsTheirNames Theatre came up with a fresh and novel way of presenting one of Bard’s earliest plays by staging a heavily-edited, highly-accessible and fun version in a tiny pub with six actors playing multiple characters… and an audience member playing a dog.

The gentlemen in question are Valentine (Joe Azzopardi) and Proteus (Joseph Zammit), who are best of buddies separated when the former departs to serve the Duke of Milan (Nathan Brimmer). Proteus follows Valentine to Milan not long after, but not before professing his love to Julia (Giulia Xuereb).

Valentine’s cynical attitude towards Proteus’ devotion to Julia disappears when he himself falls head over heels for the duke’s daughter, Silvia (Bettina Paris), and tries to win her from her intended suitor, the obnoxious Thurio (Philip Leone Ganado). But, when Proteus himself falls in love with Silvia, both his love for Julia and his friendship with Valentine are tested to their limit.

The audience of 20 were sat around the pub’s tables and even served complimentary drinks by the cast during the course of the play. The actors took full advantage of the close proximity of the audience and interacted very skilfully with various members of the audience, particularly in the hilarious scene where Launce (an excellent Joe Azzopardi) demonstrates his dog’s indifference to his owner’s imminent departure by using an audience member’s shoes.

The scene had the whole audience in stitches and was a true master class from Azzopardi in comedic delivery. The whole cast was simply superb, handling the text skilfully and interacting naturally with the audience. Bettina Paris continued to showcase her boundless talent and range by playing a variety of roles from the broad strokes of the cartoonish vagabonds to the weightier character that is Sylvia. She was perfectly matched by the lively Giulia Xuereb, who portrayed Julia’s contrasting emotions of love and disappointment with great sincerity.

The whole cast was simply superb, handling the text skilfully and interacting naturally with the audience

Nathan Brimmer was the host that greeted the audience on arrival and added great charm to all his characters providing some wonderful musical interludes with his singing and guitar playing.

Joseph Zammit’s strong stage presence and vocal delivery can easily fill a large theatre, so it was a joy to see him skilfully adapting to such an intimate setting. His chameleon-like portrayal of the fickle Proteus and his elaborate justifications for betraying his lover and his friend were highlights of the evening. Directed by the very talented Philip Leone Ganado, this daisy chain of romantic entanglements was not an easy play to adapt and direct. Leone Ganado, however, very wisely edited the text to suit both the venue and the casting while keeping the narrative flowing smoothly through the rather convoluted plot of the original. Although every possible use of the tiny space was used to full effect, it was in the scenes set in a pub that the actual setting really came alive and reverberated with the story.

WhatsTheirNames Theatre should be commended for this bold, brash, yet highly entertaining production. It’s so refreshing to see young, talented actors unfazed by the prospect of staging one of Shakespeare’s least popular plays and turning it into such a fun evening out at the theatre, I mean pub.