Silly but Raunchy: Little Willy
Created 6 years ago by Ronnie Burkett, the Daisy Theatre is back with its biggest project: a show based on the English playwright William Shakespeare hosted by the Centaur Theatre. This 16+ show is offered at the Centaur from May 2nd to May 14th of this year. Don’t miss it!
Burkett is a professional puppeteer and his shows, through the Daisy Theatre, tend to present a variety of characters and many different personalities. In this almost 2-hour-long one-man show, he uses his puppets to present different sketches that follow each other fluidly staying connected by the main intrigue: the Daisy Theatre has been booked for a Shakespeare play. However, this company produces mostly… cabaret shows!
Using handmade marionettes on a custom scene, Burkett presents many characters like Shakespeare, Esme the narcissistic diva, Schnitzel the fairy, Edna Rural and her touching past, but also strange characters like many artists of different horizons and of different personalities, a janitor, a military man with a dress, a whole orchestra and even a cow! Each marionette is meticulously crafted inside out, with unique designs and well-planned personalities. Each of them helped push the show along with a natural flow, and each one’s memorable personality guaranteed a spot to shine despite the numerous marionettes present.
Furthermore, even if the main plot elements are planned for, the creator and performer, Burkett, is free to improvise and bring new details into his show. That way, each representation is different and innovative in its way. The show progresses by weaving segments of marionette interactions with traditional Shakespearean plots that are somewhat benchmarks for the play’s progression.
Burkett’s ability to come up with stories on a whim makes the play all the more impressive. His improvisation flowed fluidly, the dialogue never skipping a beat during the two hours. His dexterous control of marionettes assures a constant synchronization of dialogue and movements, giving life to his puppets through their human-like body language and voices. At times, it’s easy to forget that all marionettes are controlled by a single puppeteer.
Through sarcastic, caricatural and often raunchy jokes, Burkett skilfully makes everyone in the audience laugh. Often, he invites members of the audience to the scene and makes them interact with the puppets, making them part of the Daisy Theatre staff and pulling them along with some more jokes. For example, two men were invited to move puppets that seemed like “sausages” (you can guess what they truly resembled), participating in more suggestive jokes. If you come, be ready to laugh (and maybe participate!)
The interactions between the “actors” and the audience are nicely played-out as well, spectators are called out to help in numerous instances, creating a welcoming and interactive atmosphere with unexpected turns.
Burkett uses everything to his advantage, encompassing well-timed lighting and music into his humorous improvisation, creating a chucklesome piece bound to make you laugh.
As mentioned, the show also involves a pack of hilarious reenactments of the tragedy Romeo and Juliet that we’ve all grown to love. If you like classic plays and sarcastic humour, this play is definitely for you!
What’s more, for the play’s climax, a spectator was invited to play out the tomb scene with one of the marionettes, a small-town senior actress who dreams of making it big one day. Details will be enclosed for spoiler purposes, but what we can say is that waves of laughter came one after the other.
This play is crazy like a fever dream and incredibly funny through its silly and juicy moments. It does however also present more serious moments that touch the audience like Edna’s story of her first marriage, or even Schnitzel’s adorable monologue about simple friendships and teamwork.
It also touches upon the importance of innovation. The Daisy Theatre was based upon a simple and silly idea that Burkett decided to explore, and gradually, it progressed into something great. In some ways, it’s trying to encourage the audience to do the same. Without trying, we’ll never know what our whims of inspiration could grow into.
If you’re looking for a good laugh or a good way to spend a night out, be sure to check the Daisy Theatre out while it’s still here! We had not laughed this much in a play before and look forward to future shows presented by the Daisy Theatre!
