The Reduced Shakespeare Company have spent nearly 30 years mixing shortened versions of the Bard’s work with off-the-wall Marx Brothers-esque humour.
Having given the history of America and Hollywood similar makeovers, the ‘Bad boys of abridgement’ have turned to the Good Book for their latest tour. In the space of an hour and a half, actors William Meredith, John Kielty and Jack Bennett (who plays all the female roles) whizz through all the writings in the King James Bible, having rejected the somewhat sunnier Children’s Illustrated Bible.
The first act is dedicated entirely to the Old Testament, starting with the early stories of Genesis, which Kielty assures us is the definitive version as Peter Gabriel was still a member then.
The troupe’s irreverent style depicts Eve being made out of Adam’s rib in the style of the stomach-bursting scene in Alien, and Jacob wrestling the Angel in the style of a WWE Royal Rumble.
Meredith repeatedly tries to tell the story of Noah’s Ark, which the rest of the cast insist on skipping.
The second act speeds through the New Testament. Meredith finally gets his way and gets to tell the story of Noah’s Ark out of chronological order, and gets several members of the audience up on stage to play the part of ducks, gorillas, cats and cod in a version of ‘Old Noah had an ark ee-ay-ee-ay-oh’.
To finish, the trio perform ‘Revelations: The Musical’ with top hats and tails.
Perhaps not the stuff of Sunday school, but a hilarious night’s entertainment nonetheless
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