The Bard, Abridged
Aug. 19th, 2008 11:11 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
magidSunday afternoon I caught the last performance of Gurnet Theatre's edition of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Abridged (Adam Long, Daniel Singer, Jess Winfield), at the Boston Playwrights Theatre. I hadn't realized how much of it is improv; definitely worth seeing again to see how others spin the text.
As billed, there's bits from all the plays, though this is made rather easier to fit into an hour an a half when most of the historicals turn into one football scene, and all the comedies are smooshed together into one very silly plot, which leaves a bit more time for the rest. Especially Hamlet, which takes up the second half, in a variety of bizarre permutations.
The original show has three actors. This show used seven, most of them rather young. I'd like to see the smaller show, see how that works out (I suspect having more experienced actors would help a lot here). Still, it was a fun romp.
As billed, there's bits from all the plays, though this is made rather easier to fit into an hour an a half when most of the historicals turn into one football scene, and all the comedies are smooshed together into one very silly plot, which leaves a bit more time for the rest. Especially Hamlet, which takes up the second half, in a variety of bizarre permutations.
The original show has three actors. This show used seven, most of them rather young. I'd like to see the smaller show, see how that works out (I suspect having more experienced actors would help a lot here). Still, it was a fun romp.
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no subject
Date: 2008-08-19 05:49 pm (UTC)As originally conceived, none of it is improv, actually. It's just done to *look* like improv.
And I'm surprised they did it with more than just three actors. I can't picture it, really, as anything beyond the three actors (plus whoever gets pulled up from the audience).
no subject
Date: 2008-08-19 06:11 pm (UTC)They pulled up an Ophelia, then Ophelia's id, and divided the rest of the audience into parts to be the ego and two parts of the superego. Wildly silly, but fun.
no subject
Date: 2008-08-19 06:22 pm (UTC)And they have some jokes that are designed to be updated for timliness, but in general there's not really any improv per se. In a recent podcast, the RSCers expressed some surprise that there's a belief that the show is mostly improv and hoped that companies licensing it weren't doing *too* much improv.
no subject
Date: 2008-08-19 08:44 pm (UTC)I think I'd have thought it a great romp as well. :)
speaking of Shakespeare tangents
Date: 2008-08-19 08:54 pm (UTC)* Disclaimer: I dislike his politics enough that I'll only read his stuff from the library (or otherwise borrowed or second-hand.