Showing at Camden Fringe as part of the Old Red Lion’s Shakesfest, Nevermind Company has turned to one of Shakespeare’s lesser-known plays, Pericles, Prince of Tyre, to turn into a one-hour musical. First published in 1609, the original play pays tribute to “the first citizen of Athens” and is now accepted to be one of the works Shakespeare wrote in co-authorship with another, possibly George Wilkins, author of the prose version of the story.
This musical is written by actor Hollie Hurrell, musical director James Hancock-Evans, and director Rafael Solimeno-Harris. Six actors, including Hurrell, portray characters across this truncated, often bizarre, and catchy musical adaptation. Michael Cowan is Pericles, a reluctant hero in search of a wife and glory. As the women in his life, Anna McAuley is the pirate queen who escapes an unwholesome daddy-daughter dynamic, while Cari Griffiths is the designer wife and spoiled rich princess, Thaisa.
New to the cast for this run of Pericles (kind of) is D’Angelo Poskitt, who plays everything from the king of Antioch to various punters of the local brothel. Zara Stokes-Neustadt is the young Marina, leading a rousing chorus of “Don’t think with your dick, think with your heart,” which gives an idea of the hummable tunes that surface throughout the show. Hurrell picks up a variety of smaller roles, including the brothel madame.
For those unversed in the original play, there’s a quick synopsis at the start so we can (kind of) keep up, while some of the visuals are well thought-out and very funny, like the horse heads that appear in “We’re Having A Joust”, which almost make their own comment on the comedic quality of the numbers. Pericles himself seems to coast through life without really stopping to think, and by the time he is settled into his trade of choice, we think of him as just that daft bloke who talks too much at the bar.
The unnamed daughter of Antiochus is given a far larger role in this version of the play, while removing several characters that simply clog up the narrative. Here she becomes the leader of a gang of pirates, allowing her to both test Pericles and to form an attachment with Thaisa. This is a feminist and queer-friendly retelling of a story that can seem quite thin and dull on paper.
Miranda Cattermole’s set and costumes add a sense of Jacobean frolic to proceedings while still centering this production in the here and now. Her props are inspired, witty, and well-crafted. Kalila Suckley’s lighting design adds atmosphere to the simple black box structure, and Hancock-Evans gets into the act as one-stage accompanist.
For a play that rarely gets revived due to its complexity and structure, this is a valiant effort to reclaim and subvert it for a 21st-century audience. It’s hugely enjoyable and is certainly influenced by the properties it mentions in its release as influences: Operation Mincemeat, The Play That Goes Wrong, and The Princess Bride.
Where Pericles (kind of) becomes a winner is in capturing both the wit and the diversity in the play. It chooses a music-hall type of score rather than mining other cultures and sounds, but that works for the energy displayed here. This production was inspired by work devised by the BOVTS Professional Acting MFA cohort of 2025, but feels much more accomplished than a typical student-led production.
4.5 stars.
Pericles (kind of) is part of Shakesfest at the Old Red Lion Theatre and Camden Fringe.