Drunk Shakespeare

An Off-Broadway comedy for guests 21 and over, Drunk Shakespeare puts a Shakespeare play through an unusual test. Before the story begins, one member of the cast drinks whiskey, and then the company tries to get through the play anyway. The New York edition is billed as Drunk Romeo & Juliet, and the audience watches from their seats while drinks are brought around during the performance.

Five professional actors perform as the Drunk Shakespeare Society. Four stay sober and do their best to hold the play together. The fifth, after five shots of whiskey, takes on a major role. As of October 2026, the New York performances are at the Ruby Theatre, near Times Square.

The words on stage belong to William Shakespeare, and the New York edition is built on Romeo and Juliet. What changes from night to night is the actor who drinks. In the format the company uses, that actor may do whatever they like, and the sober four have to follow along. The company promises quick-thinking improvisation and says every evening plays out differently.

You do not need to know the play. The company states that no background in Shakespeare is required, so the evening works as a comedy first, whether or not you know how the story goes.

This is a seated show in a room the company describes as an intimate speakeasy, with a full cocktail bar. The company says the staging is in the round. A menu of cocktails, wine, beer and liquor is served to you at your seat while the performance is under way, and a small selection of snacks is available too. Drinking is optional.

Because one performer is drinking on stage, the company points to a few safeguards. The drinking role rotates among the actors on a regular system, and the company says the people who drink are watched closely throughout. It also states that it does not condone excessive drinking.

Griffin and Hudson launched the format in New York. The first production was Macbeth, which began in a New York bar in March 2014. As of January 2019, the show had passed 2,000 performances. In 2023, the people who work the show, from actors and stage managers to bar staff, organized under the name Drunk Shakespeare United as part of Actors' Equity Association.

As of October 2026, the same format also plays in Houston, Dallas, Phoenix, Chicago and Washington D.C. The company has sister shows too, among them Drunk Pirates, Drunk Dracula and Drunk Christmas Carol.