The worldwide comic phenomenon is a rollercoaster ride through all 37 of the Bard’s plays, performed by just three actors. Retold for a new generation of theatregoers, expect Hamlet performed backwards, Titus Andronicus as a YouTube cooking tutorial, and all of the History plays turned into a chaotic football match where the crown is kicked from king to king.
Throw in lightning-fast costume changes, sword fights, outrageous improvisation and the result is a wildly inventive and hilarious celebration of Shakespeare.
After a run in Chipping Norton earlier this year, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) returns to the heart of the city for a limited run at Oxford Playhouse. Rebooted and reimagined for 2026, the Reduced Shakespeare Company bring their trademark comedic style, playing at the venue from Thursday 28 to Saturday 30 May.
The cast of four are Efé Agwele (A Family Business – UK Tour, Thrown – National Theatre of Scotland, Hamlet – National Theatre Studios, Mad House – Ambassadors Theatre), Woogie Jung (Caged Sisters Musical – Camden Fringe, Calling – Hoxton Hall), Tom Pavey, who is 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, Run Rebel – UK Tour 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.”
The production is presented by The Theatre Chipping Norton and Selladoor Worldwide and written by Adam Long (who also directs), Daniel Singer and Jess Winfield. Set and costume design is by Liz Cooke, with lighting by Alexandra Stafford and movement directed by Amy Lawrence.
To book tickets, contact the Box Office on 01865 305305 or visit oxfordplayhouse.com
Images (c) Mark Senior
