NOW this is what I call pressure cooker Shakespeare . . . or should that be Deep Fryer?

It is certainly a tasty (two hour and 45 minutes and a bit more) cooking time in this riotous co- production between Shakespeare North and the adventurous and ambitious Not Too Tame company based in Warrington.

Director and adaptor Jimmy Fairhurst and the creative team have clearly grabbed hold of the play 're-imagined it, revamped and re- booted it' and turned it I to, well, a bit of a party.

It is set in the music industry and thus amps and stage gear become the minimal set.

Comedy confidently runs through it all. Most notably in the double-act between Jack Brown's Sir Toby Belch and Reuben Johnson's Sir Andrew Aguecheek.

Spot-on timing prevailed.

At times it does gets rather exhausting for the audience with so many ideas bursting out from the stage. A lot of The Bard's dialogue is shipwrecked along the way.

But it's fun keeping up with the versatile eight-strong cast as they weave in and out of scenes involving mistaken identities and all manner of love and grief dilemmas.

It's upbeat from the outset when Feste the Fool - a feisty Louise Hagerty - conducts some communal singing from the aisles.

Music comes from a varied soundtrack featuring diva Purvi Parmar on Stay by the very apt Shakespeare's Sister.

There's Joy Division and Blondie, too.

All this and local hero Les Dennis in the starring role as Malvolio.

Les is outstanding in his interpretation of the stuffy tour manager who is set up and ridiculed - a complex character but Les gets it right.

Les didn't really need the absolutely over-the-top outfit that made him look like a superhero - enter Captain Yellow.

It was a grand visual entrance for Les and made for a striking contrast when he was jailed.

Melancholy was etched on his face. And his mournful singing is very touching.

It looks, too, like a play where selective ad-libbing could work.

When Malvolio is imprisoned he is asked a searching question to determine his sanity.

I expected Les to answer with the quip: "We asked a hundred people and our survey said..."

Just a thought.

There's a fair mix of ballads and rockers throughout on guitar and keyboards.

And all's well that ends well.

Wrong play, I know, but you get the gist.

Just one warning for purists, there are plenty of expletives included that you won't find in the Shakespeare Folios.

Forsooth - at the end of the day this is an entertaining and fresh take on Twelfth Night.

VERDICT: Four stars. Pulsating, pumping and (at times) poignant.

The production is on until June 29

Tickets from Shakespearenorthplayhouse.co.uk or 0151 433 7156.

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