Word: compleatly
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Speed is the principle pleasure of The Compleat Works of Wllm. Shkspre. (Abridged), showing through August 8 at the Hasty Pudding Theatre. From the beginning, the play's trio of actors (Erik Amblad, Will Burke and Adam "Waka" Green) plainly state their mission--to present all of Shakespeare's plays--and take off like horses from a starting gate. They begin with a comparably lengthy rendition of Romeo and Juliet, continue with truncated versions of the Tragedies, and, with time running short, condense the Comedies into a skit in double time, and further distill the Histories into a few symbolic...
Critics of other productions of The Compleat Works who have deemed the play "corny" were probably put off by the silly antics that fill time between the genuinely comical play-episodes. It is a great credit to Amblad, Burke and Green that their characters come off as outrageously as they do. They turn what might have been embarrassingly earnest characters into authentic figures of slapstick. Like a good cartoon, The Compleat Works is clever and accessible on many levels (think "Animaniacs...
Shakespeare himself, who perfected the double entendre, would have appreciated the sight gags and lowbrow humor that comprise so much of this play. Traditional gags and constant physical comedy alone make this play funny, but rich word-play quickens and deepens the humor. The writers who created The Compleat Works are clearly Shakespearean scholars. "That which we call a nose, by any other name, would still smell," philosophizes one actor in the ten-minute version of Romeo and Juliet at the play's inception. Allusions to contemporary pop culture not only demonstrate Shakespeare's relevance, but allow the audience...
...Compleat Works boasts a widely experienced directorial and production crew. A quick glance at the program reveals that the actors are not the only veterans of Harvard theater. Despite its cast of familiar Harvard names, this is not a Harvard production. This summer's performance of The Compleat Works was staged by Summer Stages, a company established by the cast and crew. Co-directors Jerald Korn and Elena DeCoste said that when they realized how many experienced actors, directors, producers, and crew members were staying in Cambridge for the summer, they decided it would be worth the risk to establish...
Though the lack of plot continuity adds comic flair to the most serious interchanges, the text of The Compleat Wrks really isn't much different than what you'd find on 10 randomly selected pages of the Riverside Edition. With men playing women, pathetic melodrama, the overuse of gaudy props (i.e. silly string which makes several repeat appearances as a vomit substitute) one begins to wonder if this isn't Shakespeare as it was meant to be. A frequent object of ridicule throughout the show are Shakespeare companies that fret about making Shakespeare accessible to modern audiences. The show suggests...