Richard III at Telford's Museum of Iron (Fringe Review practice)

**** A typically uplifting Shakespearean offering from the irreverent Oddsocks company.

Once again, this witty touring company take a Shakespeare play that's really a tragedy, and make their audience cheer, boo and – most importantly – laugh. That they do so in the rain is even more impressive.

Even for those of us not sure what to expect from an Oddsocks performance in the gentle drizzle of Telford's Ironbridge Gorge, Andy Barrow's opening line would have given a pretty good indication of what was to come. Perched atop the Oddsocks Tudor travelling cart, wig and false nose in place, the company's director and lead actor in Shakespeare's Richard III announced 'Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer by this sun...' Pause. A brief, irritated glance at the lowering clouds above. A briefer, tutting glance at the audience huddling beneath umbrellas. An arm stretched to the stage below him, from which Neal Craig's Edward IV has just departed, and Barrow continues, 'of York.'

Oddoscks is a company very much in tune with their audience and the space in which they perform. Their out-door Richard III demonstrates once again that they aren't scared to ad lib with their classic text, especially to adapt to local circumstances. Buckingham's (Edward Day) promised Earldom of Hereford becomes the (non-existent) Earldom of Telford, and Gloucester and Catesby (Kaitlin Howard) have an ad lib conversation about her wig being dislodged (during this, though probably not other, performances).

On the whole, Oddsocks keep it simple for their modern audience, explaining their characters beforehand and occasionally summing up the story in song form. Their staging is just the field of grass and their incredibly versatile wagon, which has all sorts of flaps and concealed sections ready to represent a bedroom, a prison, a throne room, you name it. Handily, they've also cut down some of the original, as Shakespeare could be a bit wordy at times, and Andy Barrow's adaptation nicely trims some of the fat off this particular bone.

Of course, the biggest challenge with an out-door show is likely to be the weather. On this occasion, the powers that be clearly weren't on the company's side. While the rain poured, the actors carried on, but there were times when the sound of rain on umbrellas drowned them out (no pun intended). Though they soldiered on, I'm sure Oddsocks' players would have had more vim, vigour and success in a sunny performance to an audience squinting in sunlight rather than squirming in rain. Their smiles helped, but a little more could have helped blast the proverbial clouds away earlier. Also, a little more voice work wouldn't go amiss, to avoid actors losing their voices to the vastness of the Ironbridge Gorge. But maybe that's just a venue issue, considering they've always been loud enough in custom-built outdoor spaces.

But, as a performance bringing an under-performed Shakespeare to the public, this succeeds in making it entertaining and funny while staying true to the original story and characterisation. That so bloody and political a play is funny makes this a worthy addition to the Oddsocks canon, and is a tribute to their irreverent style.