Since its pass-the-hat origins in 1981, the Reduced Shakespeare Company has created ten world-renowned stage shows, two television specials, several failed TV pilots, and numerous radio pieces, all of which have been seen, performed, and heard the world over. The company's stops have included the White House, off-Broadway, the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, London's West End, Seattle Repertory Theatre, American Repertory Theatre and Montreal's famed Just For Laughs Festival, as well as performances in Israel, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Japan, Malta, Singapore and Bermuda, plus countless civic and university venues throughout the USA, the UK, and Europe.
The RSC’s first three shows - The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged), The Complete History of America (abridged), and The Bible: The Complete Word of God (abridged) - ran for nine years at the Criterion Theatre in Piccadilly Circus as London’s longest-running comedies. For years the RSC had more shows running in the West End than Andrew Lloyd Webber. They were also funnier.
In 2016, in honor of its 35th anniversary and the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death, the RSC premiered its 10th stage show William Shakespeare’s Long Lost First Play (abridged) at the Folger Shakespeare Theatre in Washington DC. And in 2013, the RSC premiered the subject it was born to reduce - The Complete History of Comedy (abridged) - to critical and commercial acclaim at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park.
The “Bad Boys of Abridgment” have also applied their fast, funny and physical approach to World History in Western Civilization: The Complete Musical (abridged) [original title: The Complete Millennium Musical (abridged)], which toured simultaneously in the US, UK and Australia); Athletics in The Complete World of Sports (abridged), which played in London during the 2012 Olympics; Literature in All the Great Books (abridged); and the Movies in Completely Hollywood (abridged), which skewers the 197 greatest films of all time.
In 2011, the world premiere of The Ultimate Christmas Show (abridged) became Merrimack Repertory Theatre’s best-selling holiday show ever, and the third-best-selling show in MRT’s history.
And in 2019, the London in Tel Aviv Festival presented the international premiere of the RSC’s 11th stage show Hamlet’s Big Adventure! (a prequel).
RSC shows have received critical acclaim across the US, UK, Belgium, Holland, Hong Kong, and Barbados, and played to packed houses at the Kennedy Center, Pittsburgh Public Theatre, San Diego Repertory Theatre, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Seattle’s ACT Theatre, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, and Sweden (in Swedish!).
For TV, the RSC compressed the first five seasons of Lost into a ten-minute film called Lost Reduced, and was a Jeopardy! category in the 2005 and 2006 Tournaments of Champions. They wrote and starred in The Ring Reduced, a half-hour version of Wagner's Ring Cycle for Channel 4 (UK), and reduced the Edinburgh Festival for BBC and the soap opera Glenroe for RTE Ireland. Shakespeare (abridged) aired on PBS and is available on DVD, as is America (abridged).
For National Public Radio, the RSC has been heard on All Things Considered, Weekend Edition, Talk of the Nation, Day to Day, West Coast Live, and To The Best of Our Knowledge. The BBC World Service commissioned the six-part Reduced Shakespeare Radio Show. The Reduced Shakespeare Company Christmas was heard on Public Radio International.
The RSC won the prestigious Shorty Award in New York City and the Delft Audience Award in Holland. They’ve also been nominated for an Olivier Award in London, two Helen Hayes Awards in Washington, DC, and the SF Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Award.
The RSC also creates unique entertainments for corporate events, working with such companies as Sky-TV, Time Magazine, Motorola, and Rotary International.
RSC Books include Pop-Up Shakespeare (illustrated by Jennie Maizels), the irreverent reference book Reduced Shakespeare: The Complete Guide for the Attention-Impaired (abridged), and the comic memoir How The Bible Changed Our Lives (Mostly For The Better). RSC scripts are published in the US and UK, and translated into over a dozen languages.
And the RSC Podcast, a free 20-minute audio glimpse of life backstage and on the road, is available every week at iTunes and www.reducedshakespeare.com.
RSC General Manager
Jane Martin
RSC Company Manager
Alli Bostedt
Stage Manager
Elaine Randolph
Wardrobe/Prop Supervisor
Erin Sweeney
Costumes
Skipper Skeoch
Props
Alli Bostedt, Tim Holtslag, Michael Ross
Puppets
Barbara McFadden
Slides
Barry Martin, Annie Ruygt, Jenn Ruygt, Chad Yarish
Caveman Music
Composed by Peter Bufano; performed by Cirkestra
“Laughed Till I Cried” by
Austin Tichenor
Sound
Joe Winkler, Zach Moore
Timeline
Reed Martin, Phil Rundle, Austin Tichenor
U.S. Tour Direction
Kosson Talent
Legal Counsel
Sharon Colchamiro, Esq.
Company Founder
Daniel Singer
For their contributions to the development of the script, the Authors wish to thank:
Dominic Conti; Alli Bostedt; Elaine Randolph; Dustin Sullivan; Jennifer King; Michael Ross and Napa Valley Playhouse; Blake Robison, Michael Haney, and Buzz Ward at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park; Charles Towers at Merrimack Repertory Theatre; Alan Ernstein; David Carlyon; Dee Ryan; Damian Cruden; Daisy Tichenor; Bernard Levin; Quincy Tichenor; Campbell and Cian Martin; Jane Martin; Gary Rudoren; Russ Lees; Peter Marks; Sonoma Valley High School Drama Department; Roger Rhoten of Sebastiani Theatre; Anthony Clarvoe; Vanessa Lee; and Dodds Delzell, Dan Saski, Jennifer Ruygt, Travis Brown, and Chad Yarish. No sheep were harmed in the making of this play.
The actors and stage managers in this production are members of Actors' Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers in the United States.
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