A great Victorian thespian’s cherished dream of a one-man Command Performance collapses into comic chaos when he discovers that the theatre management has set him up.
The Great Shakespeare Showdown in Silver City is a joyous romp that sees famed English actor Sir Charles Goodknight forced into an onstage duel against firebrand all-American actress Harriet Twelvetrees to see who knows the Bard best.
It won’t be six-shooters that decide the winner – but Shakespeare quotes, insults, and sonnets.
Taking place in the Opera House in the Shakespeare-mad mining community of Leadville, Colorado, the winner will be crowned The Wild West’s Best Bard of 1882.
Officiating on stage – and attempting to keep the actors from coming to blows – is Billy the Miner, who may not be much of a reader but has a boundless knowledge of the Bard.
The actors even compete to see which can do the most and best death scenes – cue the last gasps of Mercutio, Juliet, Julius Caesar, Pyramus and Laertes.
And all dignity is lost as their attempts to outdo each other see a moving moment from A Midsummer Night’s Dreamdescend into fisticuffs.
The Great Shakespeare Showdown is fast and fun, with lots of chances for the audience to show off their knowledge by shouting out the names of the plays being quoted
How about these:
“Life is but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets it’s hour upon the stage and is heard no more”
“Could great men thunder, as Jove himself does, Jove would ne’er be quiet for every pelting petty officer would use his heaven for thunder.”
“What hast thou done? Thou hast mistaken quite and laid the love juice on some true-love’s sight.”
Dennis Elkins’ new play is a light-hearted delight but is built on a real but lesser known aspect of Wild West history – the fascination for Shakespeare among the settlers, even illiterate ones who could quote whole passages. During the silver rush in Colorado many of the mines were even named after Shakespeare plays or characters.
Such was the level of knowledge that actors had to be incredibly careful not to misquote or the audiences would shout out a correction.
The Great Shakespeare Showdown, is the latest of many Edinburgh Fringe productions from Flying Solo! Presents and its second in collaboration with Elkins.
Flying Solo! Presents brings fresh work to the Fringe each year, including 2024’s acclaimed Elizabeth I: In Her Own Words ★★★★★ Theatre Weekly, ★★★★★ British Theatre Guide, ★★★★★ Corr Blimey.
The Great Shakespeare Showdown stars Kate Poling (Harriet) in her second Fringe project along with Mel Schaffer (Billy) and Dan Morrison (Charles) who are making their Edinburgh debuts.
-Ends-
Creative team
- Performers: Mel Schaffer (Billy), Kate Poling (Harriet Twelvetrees), Dan Morrison (Charles Goodknight)
- Writer: Dennis Elkins
- Director: Penny Cole
- Producer: Penny Cole
- Company: Flying Solo! Presents. See www.flyingsolopresents.com
Listings details
The Great Shakespeare Showdown
- Venue: Haldane Theatre at theSpace @ Surgeons’ Hall (Venue 53)
- Time: 15:10
- Dates: Aug 7-8 (preview), 10-22
- Duration: 55 mins
- Prices: Concession £8, full price £10, preview £5 (plus £1.50 booking fee)
- Advisory: Audience participation. Recorded gunshot.
- Age: 8+
- Tickets: https://www.edfringe.com
About Mel Schaffer
Mel (they/them) has most recently been seen as Jo in Little Women, Sherlock in Miss Holmes, and A Chorus Line at Phamaly Theatre Company. Other recent credits include Coda with Mahlerfest; A Town Called Harris and Impossible Things at The Catamounts; Dracula: A Feminist Revenge Fantasy, Really, and The Laramie Project at the Arvada Center. In addition, Mel guest starred in the video game Life is Strange: Reunion, has narrated four audiobooks and radio plays for Audible, and has appeared in several short films. Mel holds a BA (hons) from LAMDA.
About Kate Poling
Kate is a Colorado-based actor, director and writer. This will be her second project at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, after last performing in 2022 in Gertrude and Ophelia in Hell with And Toto too Theatre Company. Kate has a BFA in Acting from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, as well as a Certificate in Shakespeare Performance from RADA. Selected credits include: Puppet Julius Caesar (Puppet Shakespeare Players, New York); Romeo and Juliet and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Colorado); Othello and Pride and Prejudice (Firehouse Theater, Colorado).
About Dan Morrison
Originally from Lake Tahoe, California, he was accepted to San Diego State University where he fell in love with performance. During his time in San Diego, he also attended an intensive acting programme at Balliol College, Oxford University. After finishing his undergraduate degrees Dan was accepted into The American Conservatory Theaterin San Francisco receiving his Master of Fine Arts in theater performance. Dan then moved to New York City shortly after graduating and has since had some wonderful success and plenty of life lessons. Dan has worked at theaters all over New York with his Broadway debut in No One Suspects A Butterfly with Anthony Rapp. Dan also performed in numerous regional and global theatres such as; The Idaho Shakespeare Festival, theaters in Colorado, San Francisco and the greater Bay Area, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Texas, San Diego, England, Italy and Japan where he performed in Harry Potter. In 2012 he founded a theater company, The New Collectives, with some fellow performers. You might have also seen Dan in some films such as; Weak Layers, Target List, Final Girl: Halloween, Dial it Back and coming soon, Love Me X3.
Social media
Facebook: Flying Solo Presents
Media contact: Matthew Shelley, SFPR, 07786 704299 Matthew@Scottishfestivalspr.org
