Iqbal Khan

East Is East, National Theatre, review

Ayub Khan Din's culture-clash classic is as relevant as ever.

Cunk on Shakespeare saw the curious alter ego of comedienne Diane Morgan attempt to discover exactly why The Bard's plays are as well-loved as they are. As a character Cunk is a brilliant creation; a presenter who has no actual idea about the subject she's covering but one who won't let this fact stop her at all. As is the way with all these faux-documentaries the most interesting parts are the ones in which the character interviews real experts in the topic. It's always great to try and work out whether or not the experts were taken in by Cunk or not and for the most part I feel they were. I felt that poor Simon Russell Beale probably had the worst of it as he had to complete the famous soliloquy from Hamlet which Cunk described as 'a speech about bees'. Meanwhile Educating Yorkshire's Mr Burton were as a little bemused by the presenter's pronunciation of iambic pentameter and theatre director Iqbal Khan who attempted to explain what the audiences were like in Shakespeare's day. The structure of the show was also expertly laid out with Cunk's idiocy being perfect exploited through several clever segments where she discussed Shakespeare's most famous works. I personally enjoyed the way in which Cunk drew comparisons between Shakespeare's work and the plot of the film Taken with the presenter taking the view that the latter was a more entertaining experience. However the most hilarious moments came at the programme's end when Cunk almost made us believe that Shakespeare's final work was Game of Thrones. Diane Morgan must be given credit for creating a believable character whose presenting style and way with words makes her utterly convincing as a ditzy documentarian. If Cunk on Shakespeare is a sort of pilot to see if a series of shows featuring Philomena would work then I would say it was a success. As long as the scripts are as sharp as they were here, I think a full Philomena Cunk series would be a welcome return to the sort of shows that Sacha Baron Cohen used to make when he was funny. Overall I found Cunk on Shakespeare to be the better of the two comic looks at The Bard's work in comparison to Upstart Crow and it's a shame that it's only a one-off. But that being said I think if the show had been over thirty minutes it may have worn out its welcome rather than being the sharp, witty mockumentary that it ultimately turned out to be.

Cunk on Shakespeare was gloriously funny

It takes intelligence to act this stupid. The script was stuffed with malapropisms and witty wordplay. Cunk's implacable idiocy was thrillingly iconoclastic. Mainly, though, it was very silly and gloriously funny.