The Complete Works Of William Shakespeare (Abridged)
By Adam Long, Daniel Singer, and Jess Winfield.
Directed by Chris Powers.
Synopsis:
From Broadway Play Publishing Inc.:
To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Reduced Shakespeare Company's classic farce, two of
its original writer/performers (Daniel Singer and Jess Winfield) have thoroughly revised the
show to bring it up to date for 21st-century audiences, incorporating some of the funniest
material from the numerous amateur and professional productions that have been performed
around the world.
The cultural touchstone that is The Complete Works Of William Shakespeare (Abridged) was born
when three inspired, charismatic comics, having honed their pass-the-hat act at Renaissance
fairs, premiered their preposterous masterwork at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 1987. It
quickly became a worldwide phenomenon, earning the title of London's second-longest-running
comedy after a decade at the Criterion Theatre. The Complete Works Of William Shakespeare
(Abridged) is one of the world's most frequently produced plays, and has been translated into
dozens languages.
Featured are all 37 of Shakespeare's plays, meant to be performed in 97 minutes, by three
actors (though more can be used). Fast paced, witty, and physical, it's full of laughter for
Shakespeare lovers and haters alike.
"The Complete Works Of William Shakespeare (Abridged) embodies one of comedy's most
essential impulses: the adolescent urge to take a baseball bat to the culturally revered. A
mix of pratfalls, puns, willful mis-readings of names and dialogue, clunky female
impersonations, clean-cut ribaldry, and broad burlesque. The gung-ho vitality is impossible to
resist. The conversion of the histories into a football game is very funny. So is a rap
version of Othello. Hamlet truly soars and allows the actors to come into
their own as manic
clowns. At its giddiest, its tone recalls the fabled Bullwinkle cartoon shows." -
Ben Brantley, The New York Times
"This irreverent deconstruction of Shakepeare's work makes a dilly of poor Willy. A
fantasia of zany energy that throws together Monty Python-ish drag and Mel Brook-ish anything-
for-a-laugh gags." -
Michael Musto, New York Daily News
"Fresh, energetic and funny. A wild and silly frolic." -
Pia Lindstrom, WNBC-TV
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