Guest Author - Karyn Johnson

The Reduced Shakespeare Company’s live stage production of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) has been making the rounds in North America and Britain for years, imprinting its unique brand of comedy on Shakespeare’s plays and sonnets. The three man comedy troupe has also performed on both British and American television and National Public Radio. At one point, the company even had a long-time place in London’s famous West End. The production is available on DVD, so there is no reason to miss the opportunity to see all of Shakespeare’s plays and sonnets hilariously condensed into one crazy show. There is even the complete script available, if you prefer to get your laughs from print.

Don’t understand Othello? Might it make more sense to you if it’s presented as a rap? How about Hamlet re-enacted with sock puppets? And just to make sure you get it, it’s also performed backwards. Titus Andronicus is quite possibly the most interesting cooking show you will ever see. And these are just the tragedies. As far as the histories go, they are presented as a football game, just in case you can’t tell the English kings apart from each other. Don’t think the audience doesn’t get in on the act, because audience participation is also a big part of the show.

Having some knowledge of Shakespeare might be better in order to appreciate the lengths that this comedy trio has to go to in order give you the gist of Shakespeare’s plays. On the DVD production, Adam Long, Reed Martin and Austin Tichenor go through on-stage sex changes, several costume changes, and a lot of improvisation in order to bring the brilliance and humor of Shakespeare’s works to life (and yes, as this production proves, there is humor in Shakespeare’s tragedies). Even if you’re a Shakespeare novice, the slapstick comedy and crazy antics are sure to make you laugh.

The DVD features a 2000 production of the show, and undoubtedly, aspects of the show have changed since then. But if you can’t catch the tour, this is a great substitute. This production was also shown on PBS, but with some editing. The DVD features the complete production.

The Reduced Shakespeare Company also has other productions currently on tour: Completely Hollywood (abridged), All the Great Books (abridged), The Complete History of America (abridged), The Bible: The Complete Word of God (abridged), and Western Civilization: The Complete Musical (abridged). Catch them at a theatre near you and have a great laugh.