Reduced Shakespeare Company bring a new version of their classic comic masterpiece to Royal & Derngate
The Complete Works of Shakespeare (abridged) has been rebooted and reimagined for a major tour, brought to Northampton’s Royal & Derngate from Thursday 14 to Saturday 16 May, by the Reduced Shakespeare Company (RSC).
The worldwide comic phenomenon returns with this updated and reinvented rollercoaster ride through all 37 of the Bard’s plays. After nine years in London’s West End, two TV specials and performances in over 20 countries, the Reduced Shakespeare Company now brings this classic comic masterpiece to a new generation of audiences.
The cast of four are Efé Agwele (Hamlet - National Theatre Studios, Mad House - Ambassadors Theatre), Woogie Jung (Caged Sisters Musical - Camden Fringe, Calling - Hoxton Hall), Tom Pavey (currently studying for a DPhil in Biology at the University of Oxford, investigating the impact of anthropogenic climate change on lions across time, making his professional theatre debut) and Kiran Raywilliams (Anarkia - High Tide Theatre and Henry V - Young Shakespeare Company).
Director and co-writer Adam Long said, “Years ago, when we first started reducing Shakespeare in San Francisco, we experimented with performing Shakespeare’s plays backwards in the hope that we might understand them better that way. In London last month, we were lucky enough to witness an exciting work-in-progress production devised by Efé, Woogie, Tom and Kiran. It was an immersive contemporary art/dance-fusion piece based on Troilus and Cressida, climaxing with an appearance by an electronic Godzilla. We immediately knew that we’d found four kindred spirits.”
Presented by The Theatre Chipping Norton and Selladoor Worldwide and written by Adam Long (who also directs), Daniel Singer and Jess Winfield, this 2026 production has set and costume design by Liz Cooke, lighting by Alexandra Stafford and movement directed by Amy Lawrence.
The Reduced Shakespeare Company began as a street theatre troupe in San Francisco Bay in the 1980s, busking 15-minute versions of Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet to earn a living. Most of the performances were at ‘Renaissance Faires’ where the RSC often had to share their stage with belly dancers and sheep. The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) was first performed at the Edinburgh Fringe in 1987, at 10am in a church basement. From there, the RSC was invited to perform in Montreal, Tokyo, New York and London. After several world tours, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) landed at the Criterion Theatre in Piccadilly Circus where it ran for nine years.
The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) team hold two Guinness World Records. The first is for the highest altitude Shakespearean performance when on 23 April 2014 (Shakespeare’s birthday) the RSC performed the at 37,000 feet aboard an EasyJet flight from London Gatwick to Verona, Italy. The second is for the longest-running Shakespeare play (West End), notching up 3,744 performances from its opening night on 7 March 1996 until it closed on 3 April 2005.
The production is a new partnership between The Theatre Chipping Norton, a small but mighty rural producing theatre with a growing reputation for creating top quality work for the UK touring circuit, and Selladoor Worldwide, an established commercial producer with an excellent track record in high-end entertainment. Together, these two organisations are working closely with the founder members of the Reduced Shakespeare Company and the original writers to bring a new, refreshed version of this comedy theatre classic to contemporary audiences.
The Complete Works of Shakespeare (abridged) takes to the Royal stage from Thursday 14 to Saturday 16 May at 7.30pm, with a matinee Saturday at 2.30pm. Tickets priced from £15* can be booked online at www.royalandderngate.co.uk/reduced-shakespeare-company or by calling Box Office on 01604 624811.
* A non-refundable £4 per-transaction fee applies for bookings of £20 and over. Does not apply to Groups and Members. Prices may change subject to availability.