A Hamlet Reduction

Many years ago I was given a copy of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged).  No, it is not what you may be thinking.  It is the acting script of the play performed by the Reduced Shakespeare Company.  The goal of the three-actor troupe is to perform all of Shakespeare's plays in one evening.  That noble aim devolves into absurdity by the end of the performance, but it is indeed a success.

While each of Shakespeare's plays receives at least a mention, the largest portion of the evening is saved for Hamlet.  In fact, it comprises the entire second act of The Complete Works.  Somehow the three actors manage to include the memorable characters, scenes, lines and even soliloquies in the (very) abridged version.  That is not all.  There is even a thorough presentation of Freudian psychoanalysis as it applies to Ophelia in the "nunnery" scene, complete with audience participation.

The original version of the play is from 1987.  In 2011, the writers revised it as The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) [revised].  The new edition has updated jokes, bringing it into the age of the Internet, the i-device and Lulu, the "bratty character" on General Hospital.

Although I have been unable to see The Complete Works performed live on stage, there is a commercially available video version of the original edition.  Through the wonders of technology, the 88-minute performance is posted (as of this typing) on YouTube for all to see.  The link is below.  If only the Hamlet portion interests you, start watching at the 52-minute mark.  It would be a shame to skip the first act, though.  You would miss Titus Andronicus as a celebrity cooking show, the Histories as an American football game and Othello as a rap.  Laughs abound.  If you have the time and inclination, The Complete Works is worth a view.