This Play Has Zombies
A theatre troupe find themselves trapped in a rehearsal hall by a zombie horde. The group has been rehearsing for a production of "Henry V" and are consequently practised in weapons, stage fighting, and dramatics. But are the friends ready for a true fight for their lives?
I truly appreciate the effort by the cast members, especially “Rose” for this production.. and for the bold leap that this community theatre did to take their work to the Fringe… but man, this was a painful 1 hour. Over the top acting (but not in a funny way..), absolutely no actual story line, desperate and failed attempts at character dynamics, and just all around bad choices. I got the impression that the cast realized it was awful but it was too late to do anything about it. It takes courage though and these three cast members had it. I hope that they will continue working their craft but in a show that has a shred of production value and story.
I think this show might be best with a larger audience to help us feed off each others energy for the show's jokes. The show I went to was a little thin for audience members so laughs were a little muted and may have been a more fun romp if the laughter of others had brought the joke energy up.
The actors committed well to their roles. I particularly enjoyed the gal playing the fight coordinator - watching her, her performance just felt super natural. Sometimes some actors it feels like you're watching an actor act and sometimes you feel like you're watching someone be the character and she was definitely the latter. The male lead really committed to the bit in the second half which could have come off much campier than it did, and it worked for the tone of the show.
It's a fairly predictable script with the tropes you'd expect. I did not expect to veer off into Wicked karaoke so that felt weird. But otherwise, while there's nothing here that's going to surprise you or introduce any new ideas to the zombie genre, it was a decent little show.
So just go in knowing it's exactly what you think it's going to be and enjoy the ride.
This was a great show! There are a couple of notes I could make about either the direction or the writing - I think there are lines that either need to be re-written or delivered differently - but they clearly put a ton of work into this show. The premise is fantastic and, if you're a genre buff, you may know exactly where the story's going but you haven't gone there in this setting before! The nods to theatre throughout give this show an added delight.
Definitely worth checking out if you have time, and I can only hope that their other shows are more packed than mine was! They acted their hearts out for the relatively small crowd, something that can be incredibly difficult!
If you are a horror fan like me you will love this show! Amazing zombies, amazing acting and the ending is fantastic. A Must see!
Shakespeare with a a side of brains This Play has Zombies mixes Shakespeare with a survival horror as a theatre troupe’s rehearsal of Henry the Vth gets interrupted by a zombie apocalypse. The casts response is to lean into their stage knowledge and over the top dramatics, mixing laughs with real moments of tension as the audience starts to connect with the characters on a deeper level. Using some pop culture references, puns and comedic timing made the show fly by. Of course the zombie chaos made the audience always be at the edge of their seat. It’s a funny, clever and full of bite, a solid Fringe show for lovers of plays that have zombies in them!
This play has its moments. It got a few chuckles from me and the ending was fun. Some familiar zombie tropes and the cast worked well together. The techs could turn up the sound a bit. I left more entertained than not.
The performers are hilarious! Very witty and fun humor, lots of laugh when I saw it in okotoks. You can tell the actors and production team worked really hard on this show. Make sure to stick around for the bows they are epic! Lots of blood and swords which was fun. Highly recommend! GO SEE THIS SHOW !!!!
I saw this play at "The Venue" in High River for it's first showing. It was standing room only and audience reaction was very positive. Funny, dramatic, solid story and all around great performance by The Erratic Players. Okay, so I wrote the play and I'm hardly objective but I was truly pleased and entertained. I will be at Fringe to see it again.