Shakespeare for Squirrels

Moore’s amusing third installment to the Fool series (after The Serpent of Venice) finds series hero Pocket of Dog Snogging transported into the plot of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. When Pocket and his apprentice, Drool, are shipwrecked in Greece, they quickly run afoul of the powers that be. However, their initial adventures seem harmless enough: they discover a group of tradesmen rehearsing a play, run into Demetrius’s jilted lover, Helena, and make good use of their codpieces to store the nuts and berries they collect in the forest. But when Pocket witnesses the murder of Puck, the sprightly fellow responsible for the hijinks in Shakespeare’s original, he is forced to begin negotiations with various kings and queens— Duke Thesesus and his soon-to-be bride, Hippolyta the Amazon; the sex-crazed Fairy Queen Titania; kinky King Oberon—to deduce who committed the murder. Along the way, Drool is thrown into Duke Theseus’s dungeon, and Pocket aims to free him and solve the mystery with the help of enchanted puppet Jones and Cobweb the fairy. In this raucous, crass, and innuendo-filled romp, Moore once again delivers light and derivative fun. This cheeky homage will please lovers of Shakespeare and camp. (May)