Displaying items by tag: Brian WatsonJones

Bard Fiction retells the cult classic Pulp Fiction, transplanting the story in time and space to London 1614. Cool cars become carriages, motorcycles become stallions, guns become swords, a quarter pounder becomes cottage pie and drugs…. well they stay drugs! Written in Shakespearean prose by Ben Tallen, Aaron Greer, Brian Watson-Jones, and the members of the Pulp Bard Wiki, it recreates the Quentin Tarantino hit a truly creative way.

Presented by Commedia Beauregard at the City Lit Theater, the play follows the unconventional and somewhat disjointed storyline of Pulp Fiction very closely.  If you are not familiar with Pulp Fiction, this may make the play hard to follow.  Similar to watching a Shakespeare play, it can be tough to really catch all of the intricate dialogue but if you listen closely it will be sure to have you laughing as you catch the inspired translation from the original. 

The acting was well executed all around with Julius (Steven Royce) and Vincenzio (Josh Zagoren) being true standouts and really channeling the original roles played by Samuel L. Jackson and John Travolta. Accents were a bit all over the place but everyone was committed to their characters. The costumes by Jackie Davies, based on the original design by kClare Kemock, took modern textiles like jeans and terrycloth bathrobes, and converted them into Elizabethan era designs. My initial impression was that it was a cheap, budget version of proper Shakespearian costumes, but they grew on me as the show went on and I started to appreciate the homage to the early 90’s fashion of the original.

City Lit Theater is a small black box style theater and the play was staged with very limited set pieces. Produced as 16 scenes, they used a few tables, benches and chairs to set the stage. The original movie had no score but instead used an eclectic mix of music, with a particular focus on surf music. For Bard Fiction, Joe Griffen brings back some of the iconic songs of the movie that sound like they are being played on a harpsichord and a lute, helping to transition us from scene to scene.

Before seeing this show, I re-watched Pulp Fiction. Thanks to that, I was able to pick up on some more subtle jokes and appreciate the unique “translation”. It was an entertaining show and will be sure to please fans of the movie. Those who have not seen the original, or did not like the original, I would recommend either skip this or better yet watch the movie on Netflix before catching the show. It will certainly heighten the experience.

Bard Fiction will be playing in Chicago at the City Lit Theater through August 2^nd.  Purchase your tickets at www.cbtheatre.org or by calling the box office at (312) 487-1893.