Tim Hughes enjoys a far-out version of Shakespeare's Two Gentlemen of Verona in the unlikely setting of the Bodleian Library's Old Schools Quad

The script is familiar enough, and so is the setting – the sculpted stonework of the Old Schools Quad. But this is unlike any Shakespeare performance you’re likely to have seen before.

Forget codpieces and stockings, and instead think kipper ties, ridiculous sunglasses, flared skirts, funky trouser suits, bandanas and sleeveless Afghan jackets. And instead of a stage, imagine a box wrapped in a psychedelic light strip, housing a rock and roll band playing Jerusalem in the style of Jimi Hendrix. Yes, we are in the 60s. And it’s far out man!

There is nothing new in whacky re-imaginings of the Bard’s works, but even so, this is an eyebrow-raiser, not least given the choice of play itself, which is an interesting one to set in the ‘summer of love’.

Sure, there is plenty of love, but there are dark themes too – of scheming, betrayal, banishment, broken hearts and worse (including a nasty attempted rape). But this production, by the Globe Theatre on tour, works brilliantly – turning the tale of fickle obsession into a technicolour all-singing all-dancing spectacle, at times more like a gig.

Director Nick Bagnall is no slave to the plot, giving a fresh take on aspects which sit uneasily with a 21st-century audience. His casting of the Outlaws as a rock band is particularly inspired, and Garry Cooper is magnificent as the Duke – played here as a cross between a mafia don and a clubland kingpin. His powerful delivery and classical diction should serve as a masterclass to less-experienced actors.

Also superb is Charlotte Mills as the earthy Lounce – and, without giving anything away, the dog, Crab, who also provides comic relief.

There is some surprisingly decent guitar work on show - particularly on bass - as well as soulful singing from the talented Amber James.

What works less well is the sharing of parts.

In a play in which a cross-dressing girlfriend is integral to the plot, why have another woman (Amber James as Lucetta) also dress up as a man to play a straight role (Thurio)? Or is it ‘straight’ at all?

The allusions to homosexuality are confusing. Are the two ‘gentlemen’ , Valentine and Proteus, also supposed to fancy each other? There's some particularly active thrusting at one point which suggests a healthy hint of bromance. 

Surely the plot is convoluted enough, though, without yet another twist being imposed on it.

As a whole, however, it is fabulously executed, and I can’t help but think the Bard, with his taste for the bawdy, would be amused.

4/5

The Two Gentlemen of Verona continues at Old Schools Quadrangle until July 31.