Wyrd Sisters’ fool to alight Maleny Playhouse

Contributed by Jill Morris

Several Shakespearean plays feature a jokingly wise character called Fool – sometimes under another revealing name such as Bottom, Feste or Touchstone.

Terry Pratchett’s parody of Shakespeare (mostly Macbeth), Wyrd Sisters will set the Maleny Showgrounds ‘alight’ with a medieval world of multi-faceted characters including Fool – a mix of hero, jester, peacemaker and victim, played with bells by Finnigan Charles.

Fool’s hat with bells inspires other characters to observe that he tinkles all day! A hero, he defends the honour of Magrat the apprentice witch - with whom he provides a romantic layer to the tale. A victim, he is given a hard time by duke and duchess, robbers and soldiers.

Well-loved fairytales are mixed into the rich background of Pratchett’s Fool, also called Verence (after his murdered king), who follows the Fools family tradition but has a heritage of mistaken identity alongside Tomjohn (a stolen child rescued by Granny, Nanny and Magrat, the three conspiring witch ‘sisters’).

This Pratchett romp requires concentration with the vagaries of the plot - but be assured, Fool is a member of the A team in a play alive with action and mystery.

This production by Andrew Jobjohns is a remarkable achievement from the Maleny Players, setting a large cast from the local community onto the Maleny Playhouse stage at end-of-year celebration time, from November 29 to December 14.

Bookings can be made via trybooking.com or the Maleny Information Centre. Evenings shows are 29 November & 3, 12 December; matinees 30 November & 6,7,13,14 December.

Finnigan Charles as Fool in Wyrd Sisters - pic by Rene Roelofs.