Understudy No. 5

"A man who speaks in verse is either trying to sell you something or hide a body."

It's 7pm and rehearsal is finished for the day. A janitor alone on stage finds himself possessed by minor Shakespearean characters unhappy with their lot in the original plays. No longer waiting in the wings, they begin to ask the question: can you achieve true agency when your life has been written already?

"And so I thought my thought was free, But shackled so, how can it be?"

Understudy No. 5 is a monologue cycle of possession and inversion - the perfect show for clowns, philosophers, and Shakespeare nerds alike. Across one hour, Fifth Folio Theatre's debut production uncovers the stories taking place behind the scenes of the plays we know all too well.

"If a jest be infinite, it hath no end. If it hath no end, there is no time for the laughter to begin. Argal, an infinite jest is entirely unfunny."

"Shakespeare must hand his crown to Conyngham" The Reviews Hub ⭐⭐⭐⭐ "A beautiful play" Arts Review Hub ⭐⭐⭐⭐ "An intelligent, playful and unusually thoughtful encounter with Shakespeare" Theatre Life ⭐⭐⭐⭐