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The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) (also known as The Compleat Wrks of Wllm Shkspr (Abridged)) is a play written by Adam Long, Daniel Singer, and Jess Winfield. [1] It parodies the plays of William Shakespeare with all of them being performed in comically shortened or merged form by only three actors. Typically, the actors use their real names and play themselves rather than specific characters.
The fourth wall is nonexistent in the performance, with the actors speaking directly to the audience during much of the play, and some scenes involve audience participation. The director and stage crew may also be directly involved in the performance and become characters themselves.
The script contains many humorous footnotes on the text that are often not included in the performance. However, improvisation plays an important role and it is normal for the actors to deviate from the script and have spontaneous conversations about the material with each other or the audience. It is also common for them to make references to pop culture or to talk about local people and places in the area where the play is being performed. Also, the authors' notes strongly encourage performers to update outdated references and jokes so that the material doesn't come off as out of touch. As a result, performances differ, even with the same cast.
The writers, Long, Singer, and Winfield—founding members of the Reduced Shakespeare Company —performed a "reduced" version of Hamlet at the Renaissance Pleasure Faire in Novato, California in the early 1980s. They presented an expanded version including Shakespeare's other plays at Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 1987, [2] and later at the Criterion Theatre in London, where it ran for nine years.
The three actors introduce themselves to the audience, the first (Daniel Singer) reminding the audience not to record the show, the second (Jess Winfield) giving a speech about how unappreciated William Shakespeare is and the third (Adam Long) giving a biography of Shakespeare mixed up with Adolf Hitler.
They begin with a parody of Romeo and Juliet . Next, they caricature Titus Andronicus as a cooking show. Following that is Othello done as a rap song. The rest of the first act summarizes most of the other plays. All the comedies are combined into one convoluted reading (the justification being that they all recycle the same plot devices anyway). The histories are portrayed as an American football game with the British Crown as the football (or as a soccer match in at least one German production, or an Australian Rules football game in an Australian production). Julius Caesar is shortened to his death, followed immediately by a brief Antony and Cleopatra , and Macbeth abridged to one duel while explaining all about ketchup and mustard and other elements (witches, Macbeth's downfall, etc.) in poor Scottish accents. There is also a failed attempt at scholarly discussion of the Shakespeare Apocrypha.
At the end of the act, the characters realise that they forgot to perform Coriolanus which Adam refuses due to the vulgarity of the title, and also Hamlet , Shakespeare's epitome. Adam becomes nervous and petulant about performing the famous and difficult play, so he runs around the theatre and out the door chased by Jess. Daniel is left alone to improvise before calling for intermission.
After the intermission, Jess and Adam return, saving Daniel from having to cover the sonnets by writing them down on a 3x5 card and passing it around the audience. Adam is convinced to continue with the performance. The entire second act comprises Hamlet. The audience gets involved during this segment when one audience member is asked to portray Ophelia for the Nunnery Scene. The rest of the audience makes up Ophelia's subconscious, divided into three sections representing her ego, superego, and id. After the performance of Hamlet, the actors repeat it several times increasing their speed of delivery, and finish by reciting it backwards. [3]
The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, often shortened to Hamlet, is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts Prince Hamlet and his attempts to exact revenge against his uncle, Claudius, who has murdered Hamlet's father in order to seize his throne and marry Hamlet's mother.
Polonius is a character in William Shakespeare's play Hamlet. He is chief counsellor of the play's ultimate villain, Claudius, and the father of Laertes and Ophelia. Generally regarded as wrong in every judgment he makes over the course of the play, Polonius is described by William Hazlitt as a "sincere" father, but also "a busy-body, [who] is accordingly officious, garrulous, and impertinent". In Act II, Hamlet refers to Polonius as a "tedious old fool" and taunts him as a latter day "Jephtha".
The Reduced Shakespeare Company (RSC) is an American touring acting troupe that performs fast-paced, seemingly improvisational condensations of different topics. The company's style has been described as "New Vaudeville," combining both physical and verbal humor, as well as highbrow and lowbrow.
The Scottish play and the Bard's play are euphemisms for William Shakespeare's Macbeth. The first is a reference to the play's Scottish setting, the second a reference to Shakespeare’s popular nickname. According to a theatrical superstition, called the Scottish curse, speaking the name Macbeth inside a theatre, other than as called for in the script while rehearsing or performing, will cause disaster. On top of the aforementioned alternative titles, some people also refer to the classical tragedy as Mackers for this reason. Variations of the superstition may also forbid quoting lines from the play within a theatre except as part of an actual rehearsal or performance of the play.
In his own time, William Shakespeare (1564–1616) was rated as merely one among many talented playwrights and poets, but since the late 17th century has been considered the supreme playwright and poet of the English language.
Over the Edge (OTE) was a Zimbabwean theatre company that existed from 1994 to 2004. It was one of Zimbabwe's most prolific and successful independent theatre companies, known for imaginative re-inventions of Shakespeare and original African works. They had a long relationship with the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and close links to Reps Theatre.
The Chesapeake Shakespeare Company (CSC) is a theatre company based in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 2002, by Ian Gallanar and Heidi Busch-Gallanar, the Chesapeake Shakespeare Company has grown into one of the twenty largest Shakespeare theaters in the United States under the leadership of Founding Artistic Director Ian Gallanar and Managing Director Lesley Malin. The Chesapeake Shakespeare Company has performance spaces in Baltimore and Elliott City, Maryland. Its main indoor space, the Chesapeake Shakespeare Company Theater opened in 2014 after a $7M renovation of the Mercantile Bank Building, a site listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In addition, The Studio, is located next door on the fourth floor of the Merchants Club space and is used for educational programs, rehearsals and as an alternate performance space for CSC. They continue to perform outdoor every summer at the Patapsco Female Institute Historic Park in Ellicott City, Maryland.
The Colorado Shakespeare Festival is a professional acting company in association with the University of Colorado at Boulder. It was established in 1958, making it one of the oldest such festivals in the United States, and has roots going back to the early 1900s.
The Illinois Shakespeare Festival (ISF) is held in Bloomington, Illinois, United States at Ewing Theatre and in Normal, Illinois, United States at the Center for Performing Arts Theatre at Illinois State University. The Festival began in 1978 and celebrated its 45th season in 2023. The Festival has traditionally presented three plays. Although all three may be Shakespeare plays, the Festival has also included different types of theater, such as Restoration comedy, Commedia dell'arte, or works by contemporary playwrights.
The Philadelphia Shakespeare Festival is an annual Shakespearean theatre festival in Philadelphia. Every year, The Festival produces two or three productions of Shakespeare's plays. Starting out as the Red Heel Theatre in 1989, and changing name and purpose in 1993, The Philadelphia Shakespeare Festival is now the region's only theatre devoted entirely to Shakespeare's works. In 2008/9, they engaged in intensive planning with the board of directors and cultural and community leaders and decided to re-brand and rename the company to better reflect their programming. The Philadelphia Shakespeare Theatre now has several programs for adults and students including a lecture series featuring world-renowned Shakespeare scholars, Shakespeare School Tour which also tours in schools, and a Classical Acting Academy providing early career actors with intense classical training culminating in a free summer Shakespeare play for the public.
Adam Long is an American actor, screenwriter, and director based in London, England, as well as a founding member of The Reduced Shakespeare Company. From 1987 to 2003 he co-wrote and performed "The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged)" "The Complete History of America (abridged)", "The Reduced Shakespeare Radio Show" for the BBC World Service, and "The Ring Reduced", a 30 minute condensation of Wagner's Ring Cycle for Channel 4 television.
Broadway Play Publishing Inc (BPPI) was established in New York City in 1982 to publish and license the stage performance rights of contemporary American plays. The Broadway Play Publishing Inc catalog consists of over 1,200 plays and over 400 authors, such as: Constance Congdon, María Irene Fornés, A. R. Gurney, Tony Kushner, Neil LaBute, Richard Nelson, Eric Overmyer, José Rivera, Naomi Wallace, and many others. Its authors have been produced on Broadway and Off, in London's West End, and in theaters across the United States and around the world. They have won Nobel Prizes, Pulitzer Prizes, Tony Awards, Obie Awards, the MacArthur Genius Grant, Guggenheim Fellowships, and National Endowment for the Arts grants. Christopher W D Gould, Publisher. Michael Q Fellmeth, Executive Director.
Hamlet by William Shakespeare has been performed many times since the beginning of the 17th century.
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, A Tragic Episode, in Three Tabloids is a short parody play by W. S. Gilbert of Hamlet by William Shakespeare. The main characters in Gilbert's play are King Claudius and Queen Gertrude of Denmark, their son Prince Hamlet, the courtiers Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, and Ophelia.
Jess Winfield is an American novelist, self-help author, television writer, and voice actor who is a founding member of The Reduced Shakespeare Company. His books include: What Would Shakespeare Do (2000) and My Name Is Will (2008). He wrote for and served as an executive producer of a number of animated television series, including Teacher's Pet and Lilo & Stitch: The Series. He is also the official voice actor for Jumba Jookiba in the latter series' franchise since 2009, voicing the character in the English versions of the anime Stitch! and the Chinese animated series Stitch & Ai.
The Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival (PSF) is a professional theatre company in residence at DeSales University in Center Valley, Pennsylvania and the official Shakespeare Festival of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Classical Theatre Project is a professional theatre company based in Toronto, Ontario that creates innovative productions of classic plays for a new generation of theatre fans. The company was founded in 2001 and focuses on producing the works of William Shakespeare. Since its creation, the CTP has played to more than 500,000 audience members across Canada and the U.S.
The Hamnet Players, founded in 1993, perform virtual theatre (cyberformance) using IRC chat.
The Hudson Classical Theater Company, formerly known as Hudson Warehouse is known for presenting outdoor theatre, including Shakespeare. They perform three outdoor plays in the summer months in Riverside Park and fall/winter productions at Goddard Riverside's Bernie Wohl Center. Known as "The Other Shakespeare in the Park," the company was founded in 2004 by Nicholas Martin-Smith, who serves as its artistic director. In 2021 it was renamed as Hudson Classical Theater Company.
The tragic play Macbeth by William Shakespeare has appeared and been reinterpreted in many forms of art and culture since it was written in the early 17th century.
