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Review: The Complete Works of Shakespeare (abridged), Bristol Old Vic – ‘A gloriously silly runaway train through Shakespeare’s world’
When a show threatens to combine all 37 Shakespeare plays into one sub-two hour production, things can go in one of two very different directions. Happily, in this case, it’s a positive one.
When Adam Long, Jess Winfield and Daniel Singer first penned a 20-minute Hamlet some 45 years ago in California, they could scarcely have imagined that 2026 would see the Reduced Shakespeare Company bringing this expanded concept to Bristol Old Vic following a nine-year West End run.
The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) is written and Directed by Long, who, having performed in the original reduction of Hamlet, was thrilled to receive over 2,400 applications to fill the three roles.
Efe Agwele in The Complete Works of Shakespeare (abridged)
“One of the reasons the show works so well is that it has always emanated from the personalities of the actors onstage”, say the company.
“We’re excited about our new cast – Efé (Agewele), Woogie (Jung), Tom (Pavey) and Kiran (Raywilliams) – who are incredibly smart and incredibly funny.”
(l-r): Woogie Jung, Tom Pavey, Efe Agewele
I am inclined to agree. Of course, it’s no use attempting to list all the characters that each cast member is charged with playing – as one would in an ordinary review – so instead, this dizzying production leaves us with a general sense of the qualities each actor brings.
Agwele is perhaps most memorable as the title character in a gloriously silly Hamlet (a play we see at ever-increasing brevity, and then backwards, by which I mean, word-for-word backwards, i.e “be to not or be To”. She is a wonderful and vibrant comic actor.
(l-r): Tom Pavey, Efe Agewele, Woogie Jung
Jung, who dies a hilarious death during a Titus Andronicus set on a cooking channel, opens the second act alone with the audience, whilst awaiting the other two actors to return (from Nando’s).
He fills the time with a very, very funny Nessun Dorma, pausing after each line, readying himself for the high note. It’s worth noting here that despite the rendition being fundamentally comic, Jung clearly possesses an excellent singing voice.
Tom Pavey is Juliet in the balcony scene
Raywilliams – a Bristol-born actor, rapper and poet and DJ – is the comic pulse of the show. He spends perhaps 30 per cent of his stage time projectile vomiting over perhaps 30 per cent of the audience. His Juliet and Ophelia are impossibly funny.
This clever and supple production is a runaway train through Shakespeare’s world, pausing at its scenic beauty and careering right through its sillier constructions.
The Complete Works of Shakespeare (abridged) is at Bristol Old Vic on March 24-28; times vary. For tickets, visit www.bristololdvic.org.uk.
All photos: Mark Senior
Read next:
- Review: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Bristol Old Vic – ‘A vibrant and impressive Shakespeare adaptation that feels like contemporary theatre’
- Review: Macbeth, Tobacco Factory Theatres – ‘Shakespeare’s text sings in a production underscored by two huge performances’
- Review: Henry V, Temple Church – ‘Bristol’s theatrical treat of the summer’
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