Listen, it’s Macbeth — you just can’t see him: Shakespearean mayhem at the Fringe

Do you want to dip your toes in the Philly Fringe Festival without straying too close to the deep end? For many Festival goers, this might mean venturing out for a few favorite classics, reimagined for the 21st century. And The Year of the Bard, Shakespeare’s 450th birthday, is the perfect excuse to take in plenty of the wackiest Shakespeare you can get. Here’s a BSR roundup of the Bard in the teeming corners of this year’s Neighborhood Fringe.

Like your Hamlet in bite-sized doses? How about “Hamlet crystallized”? Forget Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, forget the ghost and Gertrude, heck, forget Ophelia. The Philadelphia Shakespeare Theatre presents South African playwright Robin Malan’s iHamlet: a one-man show that pares the play down to feature only Hamlet’s lines. This “laser focus” lets the audience explore the imbalance within Shakespeare’s most eloquent ditherer.

iHamlet ($20-$25) is coming to the Philadelphia Shakespeare Theatre, 2111 Sansom Street, Philadelphia, from September 7 through 20.

Then there’s Romeo and Juliet, but not quite the one you know. A Plague on Both Your Houses presents Mad Blood and Other Beauties ($10) at the PlayGround at the Adrienne, 2030 Sansom Street, Philadelphia, from September 12 through 21. This R&J is set in a nightclub, and it’s told by Queen Mab, Mercutio’s brother, and the scorned Rosalind.

For the even more adventurous, you might not get a weirder mash-up than Revolution Shakespeare & Hear Again Radio Project’s Kill Shakespeare: Live Graphic Novel. Live Foley sound effects will join comic panel projections from the Kill Shakespeare comic, which pits characters like Juliet, Othello, Falstaff, and Puck against villains Richard III, Lady Macbeth, and Iago. The heroes are trying to find a wizard named William Shakespeare.

Kill Shakespeare: Live Graphic Novel ($10-$15) is coming to the Off-Broad Street Theater at 1636 Sansom Street, Philadelphia on September 12 and 13.

What is Shakespeare without a bit of gender-bending? Philly theater artist Dan Hodge obliges with his one-man adaptation of The Rape of Lucrece ($15-$20), appearing with the help of Philadelphia Artists’ Collective at Broad Street Ministry, 315 South Broad Street, Philadelphia, September 5 through 15.

Now close your eyes. What do you see? O.K., what do you hear and feel? How about Macbeth? John Schultz’s Til Birnam Wood… shaves The Scottish Play down to just under an hour and offers “Shakespeare’s darkest work, literally.” Get your tickets, take your seats, put on a blindfold, and see Macbeth without your eyes.

Til Birnam Wood… ($12) is coming to Studio X, 1340 S. 13th Street, Philadelphia, September 5 through 14.

“Two Mummers brigades, both alike in dignity.” Tribe of Fools offers Two Street — A Tale of Star Crossed Mummers ($15-$20). It’s the story of Ronnie and Jules, who love each other despite belonging to separate Mummers brigades. It’ll be at the Church of the Crucifixion, 620 South 8th Street, Philadelphia, September 4 through 13.

We hope this list helps kick off Philly Shakespeare aficionados’ Fringe must-watch lists. For the full lineup of Fringe Festival shows, running September 5 through 21, click here.

For more BSR preview round-ups, check out our peek at this year's dangerously sexy shows, and our list of audience participation warnings.