The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) by Reduced Shakespeare Company condenses all of the plays written by William Shakespeare into a one hour and thirty-five minute’s show, covering a brief outline of all the plays, plus a quick look at the sixteen sonnets along with more indepth staging of two of the more famous plays.
After nine years running in the West End of London, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) is currently on tour across the country. Catching this performance at Salisbury Playhouse, I can understand why it had huge success and ran as long in the West End.
The cast of three in tonight’s performance were Tom Pavey, Woogie Jung, and understudy Kiran Raywilliams. They have a strong rapport on stage and engage with the audience and break the fourth wall throughout with some audience participation required.
Writers Adam Long, Daniel Singer, and Jess Winfield have updated and reinvented this latest touring production. Which means if you did see it in London, then it’s worth catching again to watch out for these changes.
The energy and knowledge of the works of Shakespeare are incredible, but as it is delivered at speed, which means you need to pay attention if one of your favourites isn’t one of the more popular Shakespeare plays.
There’s mini edited versions of two of the more popular Shakespeare plays. Hamlet and Romeo Juliet. In my opinion, the best version of Romeo and Juliet I have seen. It gets straight to the point as let’s face it. Most people know what the storyline and ending are already, so there’s no spoiler alerts.
For more information about The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) and future productions at Salisbury Playhouse, please use the links below.
Four Stars.
Photo credit Mark Senior.
Theatre, Art and Film Reviews 
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