Let’s go back to 1987 when three idealistic twenty-something Californians boarded a plane to Scotland with an idea for a new show they were premiering at Edinburgh Fringe: The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged).
Crafted at outdoor festivals in America, Adam Long, Daniel Singer, and Jess Winfield had recreated Elizabethan England and squeezed Romeo & Juliet and Hamlet into 15 minute segments full of humour and fun.
‘Expect Hamlet performed backwards, Titus Andronicus as a YouTube cooking tutorial, and the History plays turned into a chaotic football match’
Mid flight they squeezed the other 35 plays in to pad out their new 45 minute show and called it The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged), expecting it to go largely unnoticed and sink like a stone.
“We’d only been able to book a slot in the basement of a church at 10.30am with 40 seats, so didn’t think anyone would come anyway, but we were just having a laugh and trying things out so we weren’t nervous about it,” Adam recalls. “It didn’t feel like a big deal at the time because we weren’t planning to do it for a living so they were low stakes.”
‘Shakespeare has everything; cannibalism, sword fighting, supernatural creatures, teenage sex. It’s the most entertaining thing you’ve ever seen’
The first show mustered an audience of 10 people, the next was half full and the third sold out. Immediately moved to a bigger 300 seater theatre, the troupe grabbed their props and costumes and trudged over to the Royal Mile. “It just went from there,” Adam Long shrugs.
The fast, furious and gloriously absurd sprint through all of the Bard’s tragedies, comedies and histories was a smash success at the Fringe catapulting it to international acclaim, eventually leading to a nine-year run at the Criterion Theatre in London’s West End.
“None of us were even actors,” Adam continues, as if he can’t believe his own luck. “We all had jobs back in California but The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) just caught on.
‘The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) comes from a loving place;
“Getting into the West End was the pinnacle of the joke. We were just three arrogant Californians doing the complete works of Shakespeare in a theatre in the middle of Piccadilly Circus still thinking we could get away with it. It just crept up on us.”
When The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) finally closed it was then licensed, translated into 40 languages and shown all over the world, from Hong Kong to France, so it had a life of its own. “It’s like a Frankenstein monster of a Shakespeare show,” Adam laughs.
Moving into children’s TV and animation for 15 years, Adam recently realised that a lot of young people hadn’t seen it, and decided to dust it off and update it to see what it would look like now. Putting the word out for young Shakespeare nerds, 2,400 actors applied. The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) was back.
Opening in at The Theatre Chipping Norton in February Review: ‘Irreverent, fresh and fun. A riotous show’ The Complete Works Of William Shakespeare (abridged) is at Chippy Theatre until Saturday, a new troupe are now on the road, and coming to Oxford Playhouse from May 28-30.
‘Of course we think it’s hilarious, but you just have to buckle up and go along with it’
Expect Hamlet performed backwards, Titus Andronicus as a YouTube cooking tutorial, and all of the History plays turned into a chaotic football match where the crown is kicked from king to king. Throw in lightning-fast costume changes, sword fights, outrageous improvisation and the result is a wildly inventive and hilarious celebration of Shakespeare.
So what is it about The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) that lit the fuse? “Well Shakespeare has everything; cannibalism, sword fighting, supernatural creatures, teenage sex. It’s the most entertaining thing you’ve ever seen, but we have filtered that through the consciousness of a modern person.
‘It gives me faith in humanity, that the love of Shakespeare is still there’
“Plus The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) comes from a loving place, with plenty of jokes mixed in with the original text and iambic pentameters, as well as some more specialist references for people with a deeper knowledge scattered amongst the I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here references, so there is something in there for everyone within the craziness.”
So how’s it going? “We have definitely tapped into something and have really strong audiences. Of course we think it’s hilarious – but you just have to buckle up and go along with it.
But we didn’t even know if people would be interested in going to see it, which proves how many closet Shakespearians there are out there, and that it’s more popular than ever with the younger generation. So it’s been really fun, I’m really enjoying it, and the cast is incredibly talented and funny.
‘if we’re enjoying ourselves then the audience is too – so come and join in with the playful chaos’
“It gives me faith in humanity, that the love of Shakespeare is still there. And people should see it live, because The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) is exciting and engaging.
“But the way we look at it, if we’re enjoying ourselves then the audience is too – so come and join in with the playful chaos.”
Reduced Shakespeare Company’s The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) comes to Oxford Playhouse on May 28-30. BOOK HERE: https://www.oxfordplayhouse.com/events/reduced-shakespeare-company
