“Utter silliness, but a bit too forced in places”
This is part of a series of shorter reviews from Edinburgh Fringe, August 2026.
With free coffee, juice and croissants, brekkie with the bard has never been so alluring. Instead of a show focusing on the breadth of Shakespeare’s work, this show focuses simply of the story of King Lear, presented as a spoof of “The Traitors”, so be prepared for backstabbing, treachery and murder – pretty standard for a Shakespearean tragedy!
Those not familiar with Lear may struggle here, as traitors Goneril and Reagan conspire to banish sister Cordelia, whilst Edmund and Edgar go head-to-head at the round table. It is a clever concept, but one that seems more suited to a ten minute sketch – stretching this out to a full 50 minute performance means that the joke wears a little thin, and the parody starts to buckle under its own convoluted plot.
Still, there are elements that work incredibly well – Lear’s parody of Kate Bush’s “Wuthering Heights” is quite something to behold, as is Gloucester’s blinding, not by having his eyes gouged out but by being forced to grow a fringe akin to Claudia Winkleman’s. Utter silliness, but a bit too forced in places, and held together by a version of Claudia that is neither parody nor particularly funny, just, quite frankly, bizarre.
Tom Morley, August 2026
“Shakespeare for Breakfast” plays at 10am at main house at C ARTS, C aurora until 30th August.
This review was written whilst the show was still in previews.
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