Since its 1981 origins as a pass-the-hat act in California, the Reduced Shakespeare Company has created six (soon to be seven) stage shows, two television specials, several failed TV pilots, and numerous radio pieces – all of which have been performed, seen, and heard the world over. The company’s itinerary has included stops at the White House, Lincoln Center, London’s West End, The Kennedy Center, Seattle Repertory Theatre, American Repertory Theatre and Montreal’s Just For Laughs Festival, as well as performances in Israel, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Japan, Malta, Belgium, The Netherlands, Singapore and Bermuda – plus countless civic and university venues throughout the USA, Great Britain and Ireland. The company’s first three shows, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged), The Complete History of America (abridged) and The Bible: The Complete Word of God (abridged) ran for nine years at the Criterion Theatre in Piccadilly Circus. They were London’s longest-running comedies, and the RSC had more shows running in the West End than Andrew Lloyd Webber. They were also funnier.

The RSC condensed literature into a 90-minute roller-coaster ride in All The Great Books (abridged), which has played to great acclaim at the Kennedy Center, Pittsburgh Public Theatre, San Diego Repertory Theatre, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Seattle’s ACT Theatre, and Alabama Shakespeare Festival, as well as Great Britain, Holland, Ireland and Sweden (in Swedish!).

Since its 1981 origins as a pass-the-hat act in California, the Reduced Shakespeare Company has created six (soon to be seven) stage shows, two television specials, several failed TV pilots, and numerous radio pieces – all of which have been performed, seen, and heard the world over. The company’s itinerary has included stops at the White House, Lincoln Center, London’s West End, The Kennedy Center, Seattle Repertory Theatre, American Repertory Theatre and Montreal’s Just For Laughs Festival, as well as performances in Israel, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Japan, Malta, Belgium, The Netherlands, Singapore and Bermuda – plus countless civic and university venues throughout the USA, Great Britain and Ireland. The company’s first three shows, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged), The Complete History of America (abridged) and The Bible: The Complete Word of God (abridged) ran for nine years at the Criterion Theatre in Piccadilly Circus. They were London’s longest-running comedies, and the RSC had more shows running in the West End than Andrew Lloyd Webber. They were also funnier.

The RSC condensed literature into a 90-minute roller-coaster ride in All The Great Books (abridged), which has played to great acclaim at the Kennedy Center, Pittsburgh Public Theatre, San Diego Repertory Theatre, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Seattle’s ACT Theatre, and Alabama Shakespeare Festival, as well as Great Britain, Holland, Ireland and Sweden (in Swedish!).

The “Bad Boys of Abridgment” also applied their fast, funny and physical approach to World History in Western Civilization: The Complete Musical (abridged) [original title: The Complete Millennium Musical (abridged)], which toured simultaneously in the US, UK and Australia. The RSC’s latest show - Completely Hollywood (abridged) – skewers the movies and has toured the USA, UK, Belgium, Holland and Barbados.

For television, the RSC was a Jeopardy! category in the 2005 and 2006 Tournaments of Champions. They wrote and starred in The Ring Reduced, a half-hour version of Wagner’s Ring Cycle for Channel 4 (UK), and reduced the Edinburgh Festival for BBC and the soap opera Glenroe for RTE Ireland. Shakespeare (abridged) aired on PBS and is available on DVD, as is America (abridged). Numerous other TV appearances include NBC’s Today Show, CBS Sunday Morning, Entertainment Tonight, CNN’s Showbiz This Week, and New Zealand’s Celebrity Wheel of Fortune (they lost).

For National Public Radio, the RSC has been heard on All Things Considered, Weekend Edition, Talk of the Nation, Day to Day, West Coast Live, and To The Best of Our Knowledge. The BBC World Service commissioned the six-part Reduced Shakespeare Radio Show. The Reduced Shakespeare Company Christmas was heard on Public Radio International.

RSC scripts are published in the US and UK, and translated into over a dozen languages. The RSC Radio Show, RSC Christmas, and Millennium Musical (abridged) are all available on CD and from iTunes.

The RSC has been nominated for an Olivier Award in London and two Helen Hayes Awards in Washington, DC. Broadway Play Publishing publishes their scripts. The RSC also creates unique entertainments for corporate events, working with such companies as Time Magazine, Motorola, Citibank, and Rotary International.

Reduced Shakespeare: The Complete Readers Guide for the Attention-Impaired (abridged) (Hyperion) is available in bookstores everywhere. And the free 20-minute Reduced Shakespeare Company Podcast is available every week at iTunes and on www.reducedshakespeare.com.

Last updated November 2009. Contact Opus 3 Artists for the most up-to-date version.