Interview: Will & Mike Dogberry & Verges Are Scared (Edinburgh Fringe Festival)
Two minor characters from Much Ado About Nothing bumble their way through the plot of Shakespeare’s greatest comedy (suck it, Midsummer). The stakes could not be higher, and their competence could not be lower. Will Dogberry and Verges be able to save the day? Will their friendship stand up to the stresses of their new position? Will the playwrights be sued by Tom Stoppard's estate?
Find out in this raucous new-age classic full of heart, full of farts, and packed with easter eggs for Shakespeare nerds.
Could you tell us a bit more about who you are and what the show is about?
We are American actors-turned-playwrights who’ve been making theatre for nearly 20 years apiece. We were playing the titular dimwitted constables from our play in a production of Much Ado About Nothing at the Milwaukee Repertory Theater in early 2023. The two of us had never met before the first rehearsal, but our chemistry was immediate. We are what our wives refer to as “comedy soulmates.” The day the show closed, we started storyboarding this play and bringing our comedic vision to life.
We’ve (shamelessly) stolen the premise of Tom Stoppard’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead- a show we’ve just learned debuted at the EdFringe exactly 60 years ago this summer- in which two minor characters from a seminal work of Shakespeare are fleshed out and explored. As in Stoppard’s companion piece, our play utilizes every scene in which the duo appears in Shakespeare’s work, and adds liberally to their storyline. The difference between us and Stoppard though is that our play is shorter, has more fart jokes, and whereas Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are passengers to the story of Hamlet we wanted to give Dogberry and Verges more agency and explore how their actions impact Much Ado.
For audiences who might not be completely familiar with Shakespeare, what makes Dogberry and Verges Are Scared accessible, relatable, and fun for everyone?
It was actually really important to us to not only make our story understandable to someone who doesn’t know the plot of Much Ado, but to make the experience of seeing our show enjoyable to people who aren’t even familiar with Shakespeare. The language we use is modern, the story we’re telling is simple, and the primary function of our play is to make people laugh. That’s not to say that our 85 minute romp doesn’t have pathos or depth (it does), but we’re going for a laughs-per-minute rate that would make even Tina Fey proud.
What was the original spark or idea that got you started on developing this story?
We were standing backstage during a performance of Much Ado one day, when one of us said to the other, “Wait, both of our characters think this other character is dead right now. What would they do if they ran into her?” and we promptly began to act out their horror and confusion. It made us laugh a lot. By the end of the run, we had collected a few premises like this, and a working title for our play (again, apologies to the Stoppard estate).
What do you hope audiences will take away or feel after seeing the performance?
Some of our audience feedback from the Philly Fringe run included “most laughs I’ve had in a long time,” “stupid funny AND smart funny,” and “hilarious, clever, and sometimes surprisingly touching.” While it’s clear that our headline is the humor, that last commenter hits on something that we also find compelling about the story. We wanted to contend with the elements of Shakespeare’s play that we as playwrights and modern audiences can find objectionable and worth discussing. To sum it up, and also quote another audience review, our play is “both a critique of some of the prejudices of Shakespeare's time and a tribute to his genius.”
Since you are coming all the way from the United States, how did you first get involved with the Edinburgh Festival Fringe?
When we started planning the trajectory of a world premiere, we thought there was no more perfect home for it than the Edinburgh Fringe. It not only R & G Are Dead, but another spiritual predecessor in The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged). A fun detail of our production is that the Artistic Director of the Reduced Shakespeare Company (which created Complete Works), Austin Tichenor, is playing Verges in our production!
What was your ultimate inspiration to pack up this specific show and bring it across the Atlantic to the Fringe Festival this year?
Honestly? The Edinburgh Fringe is a huge bucket list item for us and our producing partner, Cincinnati Shakespeare Company. Even to attend would have been a dream come true, but to be a part of the Festival with a show we’re so proud of is a little surreal. There’s a community of artists and clowns supporting each other, breaking bread together, and growing because of one another, and we’re excited to be a part of it.
