If you followed the world renown comedy group SOUND & FURY, it’s highly likely you know the name, Patrick Hercamp. If you don’t, you would certainly remember him – he was the young, cheeky faced one bounding with endless energy and talent. Well, he has now left the group, gone out on his own and this year returned to the Adelaide Fringe after an absence of eight years – and we should all praise the comedy gods that he has. He is a tiny bit older, but still cheeky and still abounds with energy and talent (methinks, even more so).

With Fakespeare, Hercamp attempts to break down and simplify some of the Bard’s greatest tragedies (i.e. Hamlet, King Lear, Richard III) – but not all in the same show (it’s a surprise each performance which one an audience will get) – in a wonderfully comical way, that has nice touches of pathos and drama popping up occasionally. The night reviewed, Hercamp gave us an hilarious condensed version of Hamlet, complete with well-orchestrated interjections from us, the audience (“Oh, dead”, “Oh poison” and more). These interjections really helped us acclimatise to the young American (oops, “Canadian”) and made us a part of the great atmosphere.

Hercamp knows exactly how to involve an audience, with witty banter and interactions even before the show proper. He’s a wonderful ice breaker! Hercamp is a trained actor and he demonstrates this in many ways, but one actor’s tool stands out – his voice projection without the aid of a mic is brilliant. His show is in the open air, surrounded on both sides by micced acts and general Gluttony noises, and yet we all heard him perfectly. He even uses his voice production to good effect when sprucing outside the venue before the performance.

Fakespeare is a very funny, fast, non-offensive, laugh out loud show. The big question is: will Hercamp return or not return to Adelaide. Hopefully, the answer is a BIG resounding YES that he will(iam Shakespeare).