Directed by John Doyle
Starring:
Jered McLenigan
Steve Hatzai
Edgar Herwick
Jerry Rudasill
Krissy Johnson
Markus Zanders
Franny Calter
David Yashin
Chris Graziano
Assistant Director - Kate McLenigan

Iron Age Theatre and the Centre Theater present the Philadelphia premiere of pimped-out, Shaolin, brain-eating Shakesploitation! Ninja Hamlet: Burning Fist of Denmark pits the Kung-Fu Dane against awesome Claudius; our dead lovers, Romeo and Juliet, become starcrossed zombies in Romeo and Juliet II: Apocalypse; and Othello, the moor, is putting the smackdown on crooked cops and pompous pimps in Grand Theft Othello: Venice City. The Bard is back with a vengeance!

Reviews!
Shakesploitation! successfully purees the Bard in a blender with Shaft (“Grand Theft Othello”), the walking dead (“Romeo and Juliet II: Apocalypse), and kung-fu (“Ninja Hamlet Burning Fist of Denmark”). The renditions will leave you in hysterics. Cassio is pimped-out in crushed purple velvet and Iago is the kind of dirty cop you’d expect in blaxploitation. Then, Hamlet strives to defeat Claudius, kung-fu master, to be the greatest fighter in all of …Denmark.
James Saul
Philadelphia City Paper

One example of the inventive, unique offerings of the Philly Fringe is Iron Age Theatre and Center Theater’s “Shakesploitation” trio. This fast-paced comedy features three classic Shakespeare plays--Othello, Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet--and resets them into the cinematic worlds of 1970s film. Grand Theft Othello highlights the fight of Othello and his sidekick battling “the man,” while evil Iago is portrayed as a crooked cop. In Romeo and Juliet II: Apocalypse, the star-crossed lovers rise from the dead the day after their joint suicide-- as zombies bent on eating their reconciled families. Hamlet: Burning Fist of Denmark recounts the tale of Hamlet training with the Shaolin master Phat Ho to defeat the fighting technique of Claudius and avenge his father’s death. Ninja Rosencrantz and deadly duels both make an appearance.
Lori Zaspel
Out and About Magazine

We went to go see Shakesploitation last night, and laughed for two straight hours. As Iron Age puts it, and they're dead-on: Highlights, in order from the program: Jerry Rudasill as Othello: Cue the Shaft music. The Moor was never more badass. Edgar Herwick as Cassio: I thought was watching Ewan MacGregor, all pimped up. Romeo & Juliet II: Apocalypse: Too short. It was more like an interlude between Grand Theft Othello and Ninja Hamlet. We got to see the cast acting like the Shakespearean actors you're used to, then get eaten by zombies off stage. Jerry McLiu as Hamlet: All that was missing was the out-of-synch dubbed vocals... and we got that when Rosencrantz and Guildenstern arrived. Markus Yan-Ming as Claudius: If Claudius had been like Pai Mei from Kill Bill 2.
The Captian's Log

Being at the top of the literary heap for four centuries has subjected the works of Shakespeare to countless parodies. His plays have survived them all, even ones more lame and witless than this. Actually, the three pieces of Shakesploitation, which Iron Age Theatre and Norristown's Centre Theatre are presenting, are double parodies, combining takeoffs on Shakespeare plays with burlesques of movie genres. Thus, we have Othello done as a blaxploitation movie, a Romeo-and-Juliet-inspired zombie flick, and a kung fu Hamlet. .... I did admire the dedication of the people from Chicago's New Millennium Theatre Company, where the play was developed, to make Shakesploitation as silly as possible, and I commend the able performers for their energy and enthusiasm. They seem to really enjoy being a part of this theatrical foolishness - and if Thursday night's sold-out show is any indication, it seems that some theatergoers like seeing it just as much.
Douglas J. Keating
The Philadelphia Inquirer