Susie Donkin writes brilliantly - and this manages to be both scholarly and hilariously funny. With constant calls for children to stop studying Shakespeare in schools, give them this - it makes words from almost half a century ago fully contemporary and recognisable

I liked the motley cast of characters of this Cornish town who worked together to save the old theatre. However, I found this a clunky way of shoehorning Shakespeare plays into an otherwise thin narrative. Too many cliches, this fell flat for me.

Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I had a lot of fun and learned something new. Bix perplexed when i read about spoilers as some of the stories are nearly 500 years old so not the author's fault
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Susie Donkin (Horrible Histories, Zues Is A Dick) is back, this time tackling The Bard himself – William Shakespear.

The Good, The Bard, and The Ugly starts with a death. Imogen, our protagonist, receives a letter from her grandfather Stan informing her of the death of her grandmother Brenda. Imogen herself was mostly raised by Brenda and Stan, so she was very close to them and it readily apparent that her attempts at becoming famous in the field of drama are down to her upbringing.

Brenda and Stan rent an apartment in a building which is also used as a theater and community center…. kind of. Brenda was also essentially in charge of putting on shows with the “Tin men”. On her death however it is revealed that this building will now be knocked down leaving her Stan homeless, and no theater for the community. In order to save it Imogen steps in, and with the help of 14 others, will stage a show to save the theater.

What happens after this is essentially where all the humour lies. In trying to decide which Shakespeare play to perform members of the group tell each other the story of various plays – Romeo and Juliette, King Lear, A Midsummer Nights Dream, Macbeth, and Hamlet. It probably doesn’t need to be said, but there are spoilers galore for those who haven’t read them (I’ve only read two of them and that was over 20 years ago!) – watching the films doesn’t count (they discuss this).

So, it’s 15 people sitting around talking about Shakespeare and how to put on a play – but in a funny way. My description does not do it justice – this is a brilliantly fun book. While it isn’t a long read I would say it is about the right length for the joke not to get stale. Recommended, but if you don’t like swearing steer clear.

My review:⭐⭐⭐⭐

This has evocative retellings of a select number of Shakespeare's plays. It gave me a lot of insight into the stories, and has some modern day explanations.

I found the book to be entertaining, and I enjoyed the way things in the plays affected the acting group!

This is a heart warming story, with some self discovery and a lot of Shakespeare!

I was given this book in exchange for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Hodder & Stoughton.

“Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more! Cry god for Tintown, Brenda, and the Bard!’ They all roared back as one: ‘For Tintown, Brenda, and the Bard!’”

My thanks to Hodder & Stoughton for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘The Good, the Bard and the Ugly’ by Susie Donkin.

This comedy-drama proved to be a great deal of fun. In it the author, who is a Bafta-winning Horrible Histories writer, presents her take on five of Shakespeare's best-known plays: Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer’s Night Dream, MacBeth, Hamlet, and King Lear.

As for the plot: Imogen Petticoat-Lane receives a letter from her grandfather, Stan, advising of the death of Brenda, her grandmother. Both had been closely involved with the Tin Men, a touring theatrical troupe that for over thirty years had performed modern takes on Shakespeare’s plays based out of their headquarters at the Cameo Theatre in Tintown, Near Truro, Cornwall.

While their last play was over ten years ago Brenda and Stan had continued to live in the flat above and maintained the theatre as a community centre. Now it is due to be sold to developers, who want to turn it into luxury flats.

In order to demonstrate the Cameo’s value to the local community Imogen decides that she will bring together a group of amateur actors to perform one of the Bard's great works. Yet which one?

The five plays are each considered in turn as Susie Donkin has her characters provide a playful synopsis of each alongside the often chaotic preparations for the upcoming production.

In order to boost the profile of the play, Imogen offers a lead role to Larry Fairfoul, one of the original Tin Men known for playing Romeo in his youth. Now Larry is a full-on London luvvy and provides plenty of comic moments.

Overall, I found ‘The Good, the Bard and the Ugly’ a delightful, feel good tale with a wealth of quirky characters, and an amusing irreverent take on Shakespeare.

The Good, The Bard & The Ugly is a humorous, lighthearted and thoroughly engaging story in which Imogen Petticoat-Lane receives a handwritten letter from her Polish grandfather at her home in Forest Green, London. It informs her of her grandmother Brenda's passing and details the arrangements to follow. Stan Lafski had migrated to Britain in the 1980s and fallen in love and married local Cornwall lass and single mother, Brenda. Together they set up a small rural touring company called the Tin Men Theatre Company, performing contemporary versions of Shakespeare in the local abandoned tin mines and had gone on to become one of the best-known, ground-breaking touring theatre companies in the UK. Eventually, they took up residence in The Cameo, an old cinema on the High Street in Truro, which Brenda had leased from the council since the early 1980s for a peppercorn rent, in exchange for maintaining the place.

It had then become the Tin Men Theatre Company HQ, where they would rehearse, perform and party. The last Tin Men production had been over ten years ago now, but Brenda and Stan had continued to live in the flat above. While Imogen is in the area for the funeral she learns that private developers are looking to purchase the place and turn it into luxury apartments despite the community using it for anything from Zumba classes to meditation and yoga sessions. Determined to halt the plans in their tracks she becomes hellbent on ensuring her grandparents' legacy and keeping the space for locals to come together, Imogen decides to rally her troops and perform a Shakespeare play there for old times' sake; now all they must do is choose which one. This is a heartwarming and entertaining story about a community coming together to save an important shared community amenity.

At under 200 pages in length, it's quite a short read, but what is packed into those pages packs quite a punch. The 14 amateur actors who will be pulling off the play meet to discuss each of the Shakespearean masterpieces, their plotlines, pros and cons and any themes each may have e.g. sexual or violent, etc, that may be best avoided. This gives a potted history of the stories which were portrayed in an original and amusing manner, and I thoroughly enjoyed the interaction between the cast of characters as they discussed the merits of each play and felt it was a unique way to juxtapose entertainment and education. Illustrating just what a community can achieve when they work together for the greater good, the pages exude a fantastic, inspiring message which underpins the narrative. Donkin has penned an interesting feel-good tale with plenty of characters replete with heart, warmth and personality.

Stan Lafski arrived in Cornwall from Poland in the early 1980s, captivated by the charms of a local girl and single mother named Brenda. His love for her was so profound that he never departed. The couple embarked on a remarkable venture, establishing a humble rural touring company that breathed new life into Shakespeare's classics within the abandoned tin mines scattered across the area. Their incredible talent and dedication eventually propelled them to national recognition, paving the way for the establishment of an arts and community hub within an old cinema they had leased in Cornwall.

However, as history has it, such endeavours are often cursed to fade away with their visionary founders. Despite the Tin Men Theatre Company halting production for the past decade, the local community remained deeply engaged, utilising the space for an array of activities ranging from invigorating Zumba and yoga classes to beatbox sessions, etc . Sadly, with Brenda's passing, her granddaughter Imogen returns to town only to discover that the council plans to sell the building to profit-seeking developers who intend to convert it into flats.

To halt this impending sale, Brenda orchestrates a plan, rallying together a group of fourteen curious locals who harbour a shared love for their community space and, as we find out, Shakespeare too. Imogen convinces them to produce a Shakespeare play, however, the big question is: which one? As lively debates ensue regarding which masterpiece to choose, the reader is taken through some of their options: Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Hamlet, Macbeth and King Lear are carefully considered, each with their own merits and perceived flaws. Understandably, concerns arise about the content of these plays, with violence, sexuality, and socio-politics being called into question. However, after much contemplation, they ultimately settle on a play.

Throughout the enthralling journey, Susie Donkin paints a tragic-comic slice of life in rural towns. "The Good, the Bard, and the Ugly," cleverly immerses us in the realm of Shakespeare, through live group discussions, it is a light and enlightening read. Personally, I found joy in the newfound insights gleaned about Shakespeare's works, even though they were not entirely groundbreaking. It becomes evident that the author's intention lies in weaving an enjoyable exploration of these timeless works amidst a simplistic narrative, offering readers a good blend of entertainment and education.

Very grateful to Netgalley and Hodder Books, Hodder Publicity for the advance review copy.  #TheGoodTheBardandTheUgly #NetGalley #pudseyrecommends

The Good, The Bard and The Ugly is a heartwarming romp through some of Shakespeare's greatest plays, told through the eyes of a community team hoping to save their beloved theatre and troup after the death of their founder.

Donkin writes with ease and as a writer for Horrible Histories, her knowledge shines through. The cleverness in this book comes through weaving that knowledge into a story with heart and characters you believe. I loved her book Zeus Is A Dick and so when I saw The Good, The Bard and The Ugly I couldn't wait to read it. I was fortunate enough to read this through NetGalley.

Some of the plot points were a little easy to see the conclusion of but all in all the book was an easy read and an enjoyable story.

The Good, the Bard and the Ugly is a funny and heartwarming story of a community coming together to save their community centre from being shut down. Imogen, the main character, plans to put together a Shakespeare play with a local team of 14 complete amateurs. They begin discussing each play and have to decide on a different one each time someone brings up an issue with the play eg. too violent/sexual, until they can settle on a play everyone is happy with. Characters from the community’s past come into the novel at various points, which was interesting, and leads to some great moments towards the end of the novel. As someone with an interest in Shakespeare, I thought this book was really interesting and amusing, and it was a really fun read I couldn’t put down! Would definitely recommend this to anyone wanting a feel-good story about friends, family, and community, or anyone interested in stories involving Shakespeare and theatre.

i absolutely love shakespeare and i loved the shakespearean representation in this novel. this book was hilarious and is such a great book to get out of a reading slump with or if you are looking for a light read!

now, i saw that this book was written by the same author who did the horrible histories writing, so i have a feeling that the vast majority of the shakespearean facts were true in this book. i was aware of some of the facts because of my literature degree, but i learned some new information about shakespeare in this - so thank you so much!

i highly recommend this book if you’re looking for a quick, easy and light-hearted read!

This was well written and an easy read, but the whole thing felt...pointless. I came away feeling like nothing much had happened. A good bunch of characters keeps this at 3 stars