Shakespearean romp The Complete Works Of William Shakespeare (Abridged) is to finish its summer season at the Arts on Sunday 2 September, three weeks earlier than planned. It had been booking at the off-West End venue until 23 September.
The irreverent show, originally created by The Reduced Shakespeare Company, became the capital’s longest running comedy when it ran at the Criterion from 1996-2005. This new staging of the show has been put together by producer Mark Goucher with Act Productions and Wimpole theatre.
Condensing all of Shakespeare’s 37 plays into one 97-minute show, The Complete Works Of William Shakespeare (Abridged) includes Hamlet performed forwards, backwards and sideways, Titus Andronicus as a TV cookery programme, a rap version of Othello and all 16 tragedies shaped into Four Weddings And A Transvestite.
The next show at the Arts is a new play based on the life of cartoon-strip City banker Alex. Robert Bathurst stars as the devious manipulator who finds himself in trouble both at work and at home. Alex runs from 11 October-8 December.
CB