"No wonder it's been a hit around the world..." Xan Phillips

 It is fair to say that Shakespeare and me get along sometimes, but most of the time, thanks to experiences at school, it isn't my go-to type of play. 

However I was really looking forward to seeing the Complete Works of William Shakespeare Abridged performed by the ‘Reduced Shakespeare Company, having recently interviewed one of the performers, Tom Pavey. 

I was in the audience watching the show waiting to see him come on. 

First of all, we were introduced to Woogie Young who was very bright, very informative, enthusiastic and endearing. 

And then on stage came Efe Agwele. She was absolutely wonderful, equally endearing and quick to make the Bard not so ghard to appreciate.

And then on stage came Kieran Raywilliams, as equally endearing as the previous actors, and equally entertaining. What a cast I thought, can’t wait for Tom.

The period of not having a programme. Kiran is the understudy, and sadly Tom was not to be taking part (below right).

So after I got my head around that I was able to enjoy the show and it really was good fun.

Although, as I say, I'm not a fan of Shakespeare, but this was his whole list of works reduced into about an hour and a half, and you we give a really good flavour of not only what he's accomplished, but also the joy of having it performed and a little bit of a history as well.

And I also didn't know that there were 16 comedies under his belt, with the tricks and twist lifted from his continent brethren, and reduced into three or four minutes.

We had all the classic plays, Romeo, and Juliet, which was very funny. And also Hamlet, which was very well done. 

In between those you they delivered a really good flavour of what Shakespeare was all about. 

Of course he spent time locally as the guest of the Earl of Southampton in Titchfield and wrote Romeo and Juliet while he was teaching in the local school (legend has it). 

A little bit of a local lad done good. 

I thought the three of them put on a fantastic performance and it was good value for money. 

I'm not Shakespeare’s biggest fan, but there were a lot of fans in the audience and there was lots of laughter in the auditorium, they really enjoyed themselves. 

There's a little bit of crowd participation, which went down very well. Everyone got into it, which is always a good sign. 

So in summary: fantastic cast, fantastic performance, great concept. No wonder it's been a hit around the world, and I can thoroughly recommend that you go to Mayflower Studios to see the Complete Works of William Shakespeare Abridged, performed by the very good and talented, Reduced Shakespeare Company!!

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