Drunk Shakespeare will be stumbling into Deep Ellum this summer with ‘Romeo & Juliet’

Shakespeare wrote about wine, women and “a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury.” He probably didn’t picture that idiot taking five shots of alcohol before staggering into a fine arts-esque balcony scene. And yet, here we are.

“Drunk Shakespeare: Romeo & Juliet” is rolling into Dallas this summer, and the premise is gloriously simple: five professional actors take the stage, one of them downs five shots of… giggle juice, and then everyone attempts to perform Shakespeare’s most famous tragedy without the whole thing collapsing into beautiful, slurred ruin. The four sober cast members spend the night doing damage control, herding their inebriated colleague back toward the script like patient bartenders at closing time.

The method behind the mayhem

Think of it as live theater meets a drinking game your English teacher would secretly love. The comparisons to that famous booze-soaked history series on TV are inevitable, but this is its own beast. There’s no editing here, no second take. When the alcohol hits, and Romeo forgets whether he’s pining for Rosaline or Juliet, the audience gets a front-row seat to the unraveling.

The genius is that no two nights are the same. Everything depends on who’s drinking. One night Mercutio might deliver the Queen Mab speech with the precision of a Royal Shakespeare Company vet. The next, they might decide it’s a good time to take a nap on the stage. As the Bard himself wrote, “Good wine is a good familiar creature if it be well used.” The key phrase being “if.”

A hit that’s been around the block

This isn’t some scrappy experiment. Drunk Shakespeare has already conquered New York, Chicago, Houston, Phoenix and DC, packing rooms with crowds who came for the comedy and stayed for the chaos. Now the Drunk Shakespeare Society sets up shop in Dallas, ready to prove that the course of true love (and sobriety) never did run smooth.

If you want to really lean in, some seats come with the power to ring a bell and force the drunk actor into yet another shot. Power corrupts, as they say. Use it wisely — or don’t.

Where, when and other practical sorcery

Here’s what you need to know before you wherefore-art-thou your way to the box office:

• Where: Deep Ellum Art Co. (3200 Commerce St.)
• When: Opening July 17, running Wednesday through Sunday at various times through late September
• Runtime: About 90 minutes, no intermission
• Age: Strictly 21+
• Tickets: Depending on discount-ticket nights and seat placement, tickets range from $49–$500. The higher end is for the Royal Experience, where you rule the room from a regal throne with crowns, performance decision-making powers and hand-delivered food and bev goodies.

So, gather your band of Bill Shakespeare fans, grab a drink and prepare to watch Verona’s lovers meet their doom in the messiest, funniest way imaginable. Just make sure to pass the whiskey, or risk a plague o’ both your houses.