Shake(speare) It Off!

Shake(speare) It Off! was a surreal pop-up cabaret for young people inspired by Ophelia from Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Created and performed by performers Alice Cooper and Claire Willoughby, Shake(speare) It Off! was commissioned by the Royal Shakespeare Company and PILOT Nights for their PILOT Sites event.

“Don’t police my body, don’t play my part – I’ll be the watchwoman of my heart. It’s mine to risk, just let me start – I’ll be the watchwoman of my heart!”

Using clowning, live song and interactive performance, Shake(speare) It Off! referenced modern day pop heroines, like Taylor Swift and Lady Gaga, to document Ophelia’s journey over the course of the play – from stubborn love-lorn teenager, to spurned neo-gothic zombie, brought back from the dead to lament her treatment by all the men in her life.

Shake(speare) It Off! was performed in various locations around the grounds of the Royal Shakespeare Company in 2012.