Review: Dungeons and Shakespeare, Fringe 2026

Dungeons and Shakespeare, produced by Best Medicine Productions and spearheaded by Shelby Bond, arrives at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe offering a fresh perspective on two distinct worlds. Taking place in the heart of the Fringe’s bustling venue circuit, this high-energy production blends classic literature with tabletop mechanics.

Bardic Energy Meets Tabletop Chaos

While actual play shows have ballooned in popularity across the Fringe in recent years, many fail to hold the attention of traditional theatregoers due to loose structures. Dungeons and Shakespeare avoids this trap entirely through the steady hands of Shelby Bond, a classically trained actor from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. Bond applies deep expertise in shared theatrical experiences to guide the room. Rather than watching a group of actors play a tabletop session on stage, the audience becomes the cast. Audience members step up to play iconic Shakespearean figures, while others take on the roles of iconic Dungeons & Dragons monsters.

During our performance, the crowd bayed for blood as a zombie Juliet met her end in a chaotic total party kill, collateral damage from a fireball cast by Prospero the Wizard that missed a dryad. Later, young audience members happily linked arms to form a Gelatinous Cube for the final battle, while another participant earned unanimous cheers playing a smothering carpet.

Masterful Game Mastering

The mechanics are stripped back to their bare essentials, ensuring non-gamers can jump straight into the action without reading a rulebook. The narrative moves at a blistering pace because Bond operates like a veteran games master, forcing meaningful choices and driving the plot forward while giving the audience complete freedom. Having performed the concept nearly 900 times, his ability to manage unstructured chaos makes the experience feel entirely unique rather than repetitive.

Seeing non-gamers react to the tension of a natural 20 dice roll demonstrates the universal appeal of this format. Dungeons and Shakespeare stands out as one of the most delightfully unpredictable interactive shows at the Fringe.

Overall

Dungeons and Shakespeare is a brilliant hybrid of improv, interactive theatre, and tabletop gaming that easily earns a 4.5 out of 5 stars. Whether you are a hardened RPG veteran or have never picked up a twenty-sided die, Shelby Bond’s infectious energy and sharp pacing deliver an unmissable hour of theatrical fun.