The Complete Works of Shakespeare (Abridged)
Abridged Too Far
The Complete Works of Shakespeare (Abridged)
by Adam Long, Daniel Singer and Jess Winfield
Teddington Theatre Club at the Hampton Hill Theatre until 1st July
Review by Heather Moulson
What can one say about a play that promises to deliver The Complete Works of Shakespeare in 97 minutes – and does? Well kind of does, but it wasn’t really the texts that mattered but how this talented cast got round it.
Three vibrant actors work at a wracking pace to the point of the evangelical, adding witty Star Wars references and American football commentary; not to mention a glossy cooking show. Working on the theory that the Bard’s comedies are of more or less the same plot, they were cleverly combined in minutes.
Alice Langrish was the first to brave the audience with safety measures, and with comedy that charmed the audience from the start. Then Ellie Armstrong with her exuberant appeal and intellectual handle of how unappreciated our great writer was. September Taliana-Carey, better known as Temmy, gave us a potted biography of Shakespeare from her phone, which overlapped Adolf Hitler’s!
The three women spent their creative energy well with Romeo and Juliet, Titus Andronicus, and Othello before tackling Shakespeare’s comedies. The, Julius Caesar was defined by Caesar’s death, followed by a very abridged version of Antony and Cleopatra and the ultimate Scottish play … in grim accents. Coriolanus was brought up, and Hamlet caused the threesome mayhem and a mass walkout – well, two of them anyway.
In the second act Alice, having to shoulder the play alone, was on the verge of passing round a tiny card of Shakespeare’s 154 sonnets but was saved at the last minute by the two other actor’s emotional return. Then the audience interaction, including a significant scene from Hamlet, intervened, and excelled at smashing the fourth wall.
A nice Agatha Christie style set, cleverly combining platforms for two players, with authentic and subdued lighting and dusty books, was extraordinarily atmospheric and very apt.
Despite the audience participation and Hamlet’s death scene worked backwards, the second half lagged little behind the rest of the well-paced production. There was also an undertone of the puerile in the writing. However by virtue of the slick direction by Dane Hardie, the set design by Fiona Auty and sensitive lighting by Bill Compton, and naturally the sheer magnetism of the three performers, this production really pulled together.
The Complete Works of Shakespeare is a compact, yet very vibrant piece. Give this one a shot.
Heather Moulson, June 2023
Photography by Sarah J Carter
Mark Aspen 