Ken Campbell
In Pursuit of Cardenio
The legendary Ken Campbell is on an epic quest. With improvisers from his recent shows at Shakespeare’s Globe and The Royal Court, Ken will perform Shakespeare’s lost play – Cardenio.
He hopes to improve upon the original.
Witness extreme Elizabethan antics and dizzying feats of competitive poltroonery including:
Blank verse and sonneteering
Quibbling, flyting and railing
Swearing by saints
Servants with unnecessary regional accents and silly walks
Women disguised as boys
Seduction of nuns
Injured extras with news of battle
Innovative interpretations of obscure stage directions
Nubs
And lashings of dramatic irony…
Each night a new lost Shakespeare. Never seen before and never to be seen again!
Warning – some of it might be moving.
Reviews
One of the most eccentric and enjoyable hours on the Fringe this year … Ken Campbell does not do ordinary and his homage to the Shakespeare play that either disappeared or never existed succeeds against the odds. An improv spectacular … great extemporising talent. Constantly inventive and amusing.’
British Theatre Guide
‘The fun-loving company has its talents unleashed on iambic pentameter, sonnets and other hallmarks of the Bard, along with their own special skills … The highly entertained audience enjoyed every mischievous moment.’
Three Weeks
‘An ambitious undertaking … The raw, ‘under construction’ nature of what is presented here, gives a sense of inclusion … Campbell’s explanations are enthusiastic and his band of players are a skilled bunch.’
The Skinny Mag
‘Ken Campbell’s notion of taking Shakespeare’s ‘lost’ play, Cardenio as the starting point in an extended essay (using the term in both senses) on the world and techniques of the Shakespearian stage, is an excellent one … It works a treat, as the audience are treated to improvisations by a number of highly talented actors based on the audience’s own suggestions.’
Edinburgh Guide
‘A wonderful mixture of information, skilful wit and sheer silliness … For all the undoubted talents and skills on display from the company, and they are many, what you’ll take with you as you go into the night is the image of Ken Campbell. As he roves, mutters, fluffs, stalks, wiggles his amazing eyebrows and generally behaves like the most eccentric down-market academic you’ve ever seen, you’ll just thank Providence that the world holds him and you in the same time and place. And who knows, you may have had your own sonnet created for you.’
OnStage Scotland
‘The irrepressible serial enthusiast Ken Campbell turns all the force of his intellect and personality to the art of dramatic improvisation … A particularly ambitious improv comedy show.’
The Stage
Ken Also appeared on ‘Lunch With The Hamiltons’
‘Lunch with The Hamiltons’
“The true star of the lunch proved to be Ken Campbell. Watching Christine handle him was rather like watching a society hostess trying to cope when an unexpected rhinoceros arrives at her soirée. The legendary improviser and comedian bamboozled her from the off. He started by deliberately describing his show ‘In Pursuit of Cardenio’ – a tongue-in-cheek improvement on Shakespeare’s lost play – in the most arcane terms possible. Christine’s darting eyes patronisingly signalled ‘We’ve got a right eccentric here’. Campbell persisted, undeterred
The next thing we knew, he had launched into a monologue on ‘gastromancy’ – which is a complex discipline, but, for the purposes of Campbell’s game, essentially combines mysticism with farting. To demonstrate, Campbell marched across the floor, sticking his bottom out, and citing Hieronymus Bosch. Completely lost, Christine tried to upstage him with Tory-wife put-downs. It was glorious – a shining example of the incorrigible in pursuit of the intolerable. To my mind it has to prove to be one of the classic moments of Edinburgh 2006.”
Rachel Halliburton, Time Out, Thu Aug 10.
The Big Belly, Smirnoff Underbelly. August 3rd – 12th 2006 at 8.45pm.
With Ken Campbell, Josh Darcy, Dylan Emery, Sarah Hadland, Sean McCann, Adam Meggido, Oliver Senton, Lloyd Stevens, Keddy Sutton.