A Dark Gotham Knight's Dream

I liked it

Idk what people are on about I had a good time

Good with some drawbacks

The concept and physical performances were fun and the audience participation really worked with the crowd there today. Some of the character voices made the Shakespearean dialogue hard to understand though, especially from Joker.

Good effort.

Forsooth! Who wrote this dreck? Here's a good example why marrying Shakespeare to a modern story should be avoided. Besides, one of the great things about the Batman series was the voices. It seems the Riddler and the Penguin are the only ones who understood this. Good effort from everyone!

Holy Bard Mash-up, Batman!

I auditioned for this show, and have been tracking it for awhile, so I was SUPER excited to finally see it! Now, I realize that content may have been cut to meet Fringe's strict 60-minute mark, but it was still a fun story and concept. Shakespeare AND Batman? Take my $$! Er, Artist's Pass. For the most part, I think the characters were very well done in gleeful parody fashion (or, straight up if you know the '60s TV show). Also, for the most part, I am pretty sure I know who their "A Midsummer Night's Dream" equivalents are. Because this is a newer company, I want to address what I might change. First off, I have NO idea what the actor playing Penguin was doing. CERTAINLY not Meredith, DeVito, Tom Kenny or Colin Farrell. It was like HE was playing Clayface and Clayface was playing Beeker from the Muppets. I thought the twist for Clayface's final "performance" was that they were going to actually talk. But since they didn't, there should have been a LOT more physicality to that monologue. As for Gordon, there's a super thin line between funny and aggravating for characters who only say one word or line, and, unfortunately, I think you ended up on the wrong side of it. Not sure why Alfred was front and center, announcing around everyone Batman's real identity. For the most part, it was VERY funny and VERY well-executed, and bravo to the actors for being able to concentrate on lines will all the paper balls flying around. I performed in similar circumstances once, so I know what a feat that is. As I said, as a faithful Bard and Batman fan, just a few tweaks I would make!

Shakespeare in the Park + 1960s Batman

There is something deeply satisfying about watching Batman give a dramatic Shakespearean monologue while stray paper balls bounce off his chest. Did the cast mangle the Shakespearean English a bit? Yeah, but don't worry about it. The cast is having a lot of fun, and I don't know what all of them are doing, but I'm also having a lot of fun. (Hats off to The Penguin for being an absolute FREAK and whose portion of the talent show was my favorite part.) While I do think there could have been more character interaction around the paper balls (for example, Alfred chasing them down to tidy up, since he's a butler, or Catwoman batting them around), I do think they added a delightfully silly element to the show, and we had a lot of fun with it at my showing. (Thank you, Two-Face, for standing completely still for a pity shot since my first attempt to hit you MISSED at POINT BLANK RANGE.) The single downside for me was that, alas, this is pre- Harley/Ivy, but that's made up for by the general campiness of the cast, especially The Riddler (of course) and Mr. Freeze's whole vibe (including his continued love for his dead........ wife).

Fun and Nostalgic

A Dark Gotham Knight’s Dream knows what it is and leans into it. If you’re looking for something life-changing this is not it, but you will definitely have fun. I got exactly what I came to see: Batman!

Fun concept, good performances

I really enjoyed the Mashup of Batman and Midsummer but some of the scenes dragged a little bit so pacing could have been better. Performances were very good with some good comic bits that gave me a chuckle, I'll keep an eye on what this company does at future festivals for sure.

BEST. SHOW. EVER. PERIOD.

Absolutely blown away by the show! The whole team smashed it! Understood what was going on and was laughing till I had tears in my eyes!! I highly recommend seeing the show while you can! #forgettheh8ters

This was a hoot!

This was comic book fun with Shakespearean English. Batman knows how to move his cape. I think William would approve of the concept

A Dark Gotham

This talented cast brought lots of laughter to the audience. The storyline was easy to follow and included humor, fun, and creativity. An excellent show for all ages. I would highly recommend you see this show as ithe costumes are great, the cast is charismatic, and it’s a creative twist on the comic. Plus you get to throw wacky balls at the cast during the show.

Clever, Entertaining, Self-Aware

Look, sometimes you gotta do Shakespeare Batman. Just forget everything else for a while and have a good time - you don’t always have to be challenged, nor have your thoughts provoked. Crumple up all the negative thoughts into a little ball, and throw them forth. Let loose. Watch the funny characters interact with full commitment in amazing costumes Shennanigize before your eyes. This is Batman Shakespeare, and I was on Bard that Knight.

Da na na na na na na na na SHAKESPEARE

I just want to preface this by saying that Shakespeare really is not my thing. That being said, you know how when you’ll see Shakespeare people will say “I didn’t understand what they were saying, but I understood the meaning because of the acting/context/etc.”? That’s how I felt with this show - a lovely marriage between Shakespeare and the iconic Batman cast of characters. Being able to pelt the performers with crumpled up paper balls (sorry, “super fun balls”) was an amusing addition and made for several fun improv moments. Also, I liked when Gordon said “forsooth.” Definitely recommended if you’re a fan of the Caped Crusader, though if you’re expecting something more on the Shakespearean end of the spectrum, I would probably check your expectations.

Great with an audience!

I had a ton of fun with this one. The crumpled paper balls were a great addition, and I enjoyed the references. If you are looking for proper Shakespeare this is NOT it, but it is fun enough to ignore that. JUSTICE!!!

Who wrote this?

Great characters in search of a script. Clever costumes and enthusiastic cast did not save this. I found myself falling asleep in parts, but laughed at astute timing of some of the placement of the "super fun balls."

Bad if you like Shakespeare OR Batman

The one positive thing is this show had a lot of energy and you could tell that the cast was having fun. The bad thing is that the cast also didn't seem to understand old grammar at all ("thee all will goeth to the talenteth showeth forsooth. wherefore nay?" for example), many of the characters didn't make any sense within actual Batman parameters, and the Midsummer Night's Dream plot wasn't particularly well incorporated. I can't say that I would recommend this show to anyone, honestly, but if you don't know much about Batman or Shakespeare and you have kids, maybe? But overall, I found myself quite bored and frustrated by the experience. It was difficult to follow the plot of the show due to the number of characters pulling focus and the bad grammar.

GOOD SHOW!!!

lmaooo idk what these lower reviews are about - this show funny!!! when you mix batman and shakespeare, of COURSE its not gonna be this “serious” show…thats the whole point! its goofy, you get to interact with the characters by throwing “wacky fun balls”, and overall a great show for only an hour!

BATMAN!!

I was worried going in I wouldn’t understand what was going on because of the Shakespearean language. That was not the case! The paper balls were a great touch. The script felt like a first draft, but definitely still more than worth seeing.

Shakespeare in Gotham

I wanted some comedy tonight and the preview was good. The first two things you should know is lines are delivered as if Shakespearean English is would is the norm for today's theater and this a parody. This show offers a unique audience participation tool - paper balls that you can use when you like during the performance to toss at the players - at other audience members! The costumes were clever and fun. The physical comedy made up for what the dialogue was short on - intense laugh lines. Lots of good physical comedy. If you like the comic book genre and physical comedy consider this show. The children in the audience had a great time. I found myself being villainous, plotting my paper ball shots with malice of fore thought ( I missed everytime).A fun time.

Poor understanding of Shakespeare

The positives: Very well choreographed fights with good stacking (hard to do when performing in the round!), the actors seemed to be having fun, and some of the costumes were neat. I liked the actor playing Mr. Freeze, and the energy in the Riddler's performance. The negatives: The writing team seemed to lack any real comfort or familiarity with Shakespearean language, most notably how "-th" is used to conjugate verbs. Very few of the lines were in verse (to my ear just the final monologue), and of the rest they frequently misused words in their attempts to sound Elizabethan, and did not successfully imitate Shakespeare's writing in any way. I went with some friends who are Batman fans and they were similarly lukewarm on the show. If you know nothing about Shakespeare and want to watch a bunch of people run around being wacky, you'll probably have fun, but if you're at all familiar A Midsummer Night's Dream or with Shakespeare generally this is one to skip.

Commitment in costumes and to characters

I really want to say just how much I enjoyed the costumes. They popped, and drew me into the conceit of the play. The actors also really committed to the roles, in some cases dialing the performance up to 11 for these already over-the-top characters. However, that doesn't combine well with long soliloquies. The character voices were entertaining, but hard to understand - which made parts of the "plot" harder to follow. I also felt that the dialog was trying to decide if it was imitating Shakespeare with verse, or just throwing "-eth" at the end of everything. Not committing to one path made the play feel muddled. I also didn't enjoy the "audience participation". I suspect it was supposed to allow the actors to interact with the audience more. However, if that was the case, the actors needed to commit to the bit harder and react more than with occasional glances & grimaces. Only one did I remember seeing an actor really respond in a way that felt "worthy" of the gimmick, and it did get a big laugh from the audience - but most of the time, it felt like it was a distraction. I like the concept of this play, and a lot of work went into the production, but it doesn't feel like it pulled off what it was aiming at.

An Essay (This review, not the show)

The reviews for this show are interesting to read, because they are pretty split. I wanted to touch on them by saying: overall, I had a great time because the preview gave me an idea of what to expect. The costumes? Great. The voices and physical comedy? Hilarious. The writing? I don’t think it was meant to be groundbreaking (I hope not), so passable. The show dragged a little at times, mainly with the set up for the love and fear sprays. I thought the Joker would do a bit more. The villains were a standout, and with their bright colors (green, purple, and the orange morph suit) they always brought the energy. If you’re looking for Shakespearean language with perfect grammar and wording? You will be disappointed. If you are looking for a show that is as advertised and has a lot of energy? You will enjoy it. Also, I thought the paper balls worked. Sounds like maybe some audiences were more into them than others. Only note is maybe give out more to the audience if you want more engagement? Two paper balls go fast, especially if you’re like me and have bad aim.

Boring, not enough fights. +1 for the costumes.

What, Nobody Invites Lord and Lady Fogg?

Seeing this show on Preview night, it was Austin Finkelson's "The Penguin" that left me in hysterics, and assured that we were seeing it this Fringe. I expected a silly comedy, and that's what we got! But, it was a well-written parody that incorporated a great number of characters, gave time for each to emulate their TV counterparts, and kept us entertained throughout. I enjoyed throwing my 'fun balls' and despite my apprehensions that they would distract, they were an amusing way for us all to "break down the fourth wall."