‘The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) [Revised]’ @ Upright Theatre Company
—Hannah Kneen
If you’ve been to shows at the Upright Theatre you might be familiar with their unusual set up. Instead of seating the audience in rows, Upright is set up cabaret-style, with chairs arrayed around small circular tables throughout the room. It’s a casual arrangement that suits their current show, in which the theatrical “fourth wall” is shattered with great frequency and gleeful abandon.
The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) [Revised] is a play written in the early ‘80s by Adam Long, Daniel Singer, and Jess Winfield—who, you will not be surprised to hear, first performed it at a Ren Faire in California, and then in 1987 at the Edinburgh Festival in Scotland.
The title is apt: TCWOWSAR really does manage to at least touch down on pretty much all of Shakespeare’s plays. In essence, three actors try to set onstage speed records, condensing plots, words, and characters into 97 minutes of zaniness. The play is subject to change (and revisions, as the title above indicates)—and performances differ depending on when and where it’s performed, and who is involved. The play relies on improvisation; the script encourages performers to update jokes to keep things fresh and current—and there is (no fair hiding under your table) some audience participation. (We all got to be the conflicting parts of Ophelia’s psyche).
After a short introduction, the show kicks off with a parody of Romeo and Juliet, then takes us on a roller-coaster through the works. Titus Andronicus becomes a cooking show, the comedies get squished into one wild mash-up (with a really long name), and the histories become a football game wherein the ball is the throne. (The thrown throne?) Finally the show draws to a close with the renowned Hamlet. To tell the truth, it ends with Hamlet several times over—each attempt faster and faster until the actors decide to go for broke and do the whole thing backwards. That was fun to watch.
As soon as I saw designer Megan Guerra’s color-coded Converse sneakers matched with the Shakespeare-themed costumes, I knew I was in for a silly night. It gave me the same sense of goofy happiness as the spontaneous appearance of a kazoo (and kudos to whoever found the one instrument that properly encapsulates the irreverent buffoonery of the show—probably properties designer Natalie Burkhart).
In this production the pacing wasn’t always quite right; this show is one that really needs impeccable timing to hit all the funny bits. Nonetheless, plenty of the witticisms and puns landed, and things moved so quickly it was always a surprise to see what was coming next. I particularly liked the funny moment when one of the actors escaped: it made for a nice segue into intermission. As for the performances, they sometimes rang a bit hollow, but the actors’ enthusiasm never wavered. Tim Bass spoke very well and stood out to me as especially amusing to watch, and both Nathanael “Nate” Clark and Kyle Morris did lots of lively interacting with the audience.
The Complete Works is the opposite of serious—lighthearted and silly and full of bad (bad!) Shakespeare puns. But sometimes, that is exactly what we need.
WHEN: April 5 - 27, 2024
WHERE: 2501 N. Main Street, Euless TX
WEB: uprighttheatre.org
