Review: All Is But Fantasy (The Other Place)

Review by Raphael Kohn

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Some productions seem to defy the entire systems of boundaries we’ve created in theatre between plays, musicals, operas, and concerts. The RSC’s latest offering, a two-part, four-act, genre-blending whirlwind of music and drama brands itself as ‘gig theatre’. At times, All Is But Fantasy falls squarely into the ‘musical’ genre, at others, it’s a political protest spoken squarely to the audience, and it even has full-on rock concert moments. Perhaps, though, that’s the point; letting artificially constructed boundaries of theatre disintegrate in order to let a Black woman tell her own story in her own way, unrestrained by the will of other people. 

That theme certainly permeates through all five hours. It’s clear from the very beginning, with a direct address to the audience to completely obliterate the fourth wall in the first moments, that this has a message, and it needs us to hear it. Over the course of each of the four acts, writer-director-star Whitney White not only explores women who are victims of Shakespeare’s stories, but interrogates her own role in modern Shakespeare as a Black woman, questioning white privilege and everyday racism in the theatre industry.

Some of it seems to be as if it is a play-within-a-play, with each performer onstage playing an actor, playing a character. Some of it gets more personal, integrating the performers’ own identities and lives into the storytelling. Blurring the lines between performer and character seems a bold move, especially given the toxic masculinity-infused nature of Daniel Krikler’s ‘Man’ who embodies all of the male characters. But it also carries power, as White turns the show into almost an autobiography, infused with anecdotes from her own life and personal reflections.

The first of the four acts is ‘Lady Macbeth’, acting not only as a prelude to the whole show but also as a challenging look at the famous protagonist’s wife’s role in the play. It’s peppered with humour, snidely joking about how Lady Macbeth mirrors sexist tropes about women while having no backstory or personal storyline, but carries a far deeper message about disempowerment and sidelining. It sets ‘Emilia’, the second act, up perfectly, examining her role in Othello and reflecting particularly on the male violence of the play.

It may take two hours to get there, but the payoff is stunning as ‘Emilia’ reaches boiling point. By this point, it’s fairly clear what White is trying to say with her show, but it reaches new heights about rape culture and male entitlement in a climax that shook me to the very core. Modern-day parallels and issues are brought in as the show becomes even more meta-theatrical than before.

The second play is a touch quieter and more reflective, starting with ‘Juliet’ (yes, that one) in a provocative look at white-centric beauty standards in modern-day casting. As the show reaches its finale in ‘Richard III’, where White casts off the bounds of gender norms and takes on the male protagonist’s role, the energy starts to wane, but reaches a satisfying end as White reaches an incomplete acceptance and release of her tangle of emotions. It's almost like watching White undergo a five-hour therapeutic release of everything Shakespeare holds over her, initially full of anger and denial, before eventually reaching something that might reach acceptance by the end. 

And throughout all of that, it’s a musical. Well, a piece of gig-theatre. Well… it has songs. Thankfully, many of them are bangers, in a rock-pop-soul infused blend of genres that get the toes tapping and the hearts racing. There are even some gospel and jazz licks thrown in too, just for extra measure. All of the songs are White’s own creations, most of which are sung by her too. They all add brilliantly to the show, powering it forward with energy and vigour or creating space for pondering and reflecting.

White’s back-up singers (who each thankfully turn out to be much more than that and get their own solo moments) are a team of West End stars: Hamilton’s Georgina Onuorah, Six’s Renée Lamb and Guys and Dolls’ Timmika Ramsay form the ‘three witches’ who act as White’s sounding board and companions. Juliette Crosbie takes a smaller role as Desdemona and a ‘Shadow Juliet’, quite literally forcing White to break out of her shadow. 

Stalking the stage as a personification of rape culture and sexism is Daniel Krikler as the appropriately-named ‘Man’, taking on the roles of Macbeth and Iago in the first play, and Romeo and Princess Anne in the second. He almost seems to function as a punching-bag for White’s frustrations, embodying entitlement with a sneer and a smirk as he flits between Shakespeare’s characters and contemporary parallels, while still demonstrating remarkable versatility in his diverse characterisations of each part.

While White takes on most of the creative credits as director and writer, Soutra Gilmour takes on the costume and set design, giving each part a different spin on a wooden floorboard stage and switching the vibes up in each part with her costume choices. It all matches the play’s vibes well, with the rock-infused opening in ‘Lady Macbeth’ pairing nicely with Gilmour’s leather gilding, the folk touches to ‘Emilia’ mirroring the denim dressing and the youthful ‘Juliet’ suited in sportswear. ‘Richard III’ almost returns to the gothic leather of the first act, as if the cycle is soon to begin again.

It's probably one of the more unusual shows that I’ve seen at the RSC, and possibly one of the more enigmatic. There are bumps along the way; the heights of ‘Emilia’ aren’t quite matched in the second half as the energy begins to drag and the threads don’t quite come together, and some of the writing could do with tightening up and showing us White’s turmoil, rather than just telling it repeatedly. A few sound and balance issues on the press night meant the vocals were occasionally drowned out. But these are minor quibbles with a five-hour marathon, propelled by White’s relentless energy and digging very deeply indeed into her own lived experiences.

It's a shame it’s on for such a short run and in such a small space, although the intimate rock energy could be lost in a larger venue. White has poured her heart and soul into the show, bearing her soul for us as she takes us on a journey – or an odyssey – through her experiences of Shakespeare. Whatever happens next, though, I’ll never see these Shakespeare plays the same way again. And if you see All Is But Fantasy too, you may well find yourself in a similar position.

All Is But Fantasy plays at The Other Place, Stratford-Upon-Avon, until 21^st February 2026. Tickets from https://www.rsc.org.uk/all-is-but-fantasy/

Photos by Marc Brenner