The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged), Shakespeare in the Park

There is a particular joy to be found in watching performers who are clearly having as much fun as their audience. This was undeniably the case for Shakespeare WA’s production of Shakespeare’s Complete Works (abridged), a madcap retelling of The Bard’s entire catalogue compressed into two hours at King’s Park Botanical Gardens.

While the audience relax on picnic blankets and nibbled on antipasto tidbits; Damon Lockwood, Sam Longley and Sean Walsh, throughout the course of the evening, brought an excellent three stooges bent to some of Shakespeare’s most famous scenes and characters.

As one might expect, the cast take many liberties with their source material, compressing some the plays into short gags and expanding others into elaborate parodies.

One of Shakespeare’s earliest works, the tragedy of Titus Andronicus, is performed as a Roman-era cooking show. An outrageous modern take on the bloody revenge tale that culminates in spurting ketchup.

Moving further along in the folio, a rendition of Macbeth allows Lockwood and Walsh to show off their Scottish accents, while Longley dons a series of wigs to portray Shakespeare’s female characters.

All three of the performers appear to relish the fast-paced humour that veers between subtle ‘in jokes’ to over-the-top slapstick, the latter of which often goes outside the boundaries of the stage. Longley in particular seems fond of breaking the fourth wall, making numerous forays into the audience that brings some of the evening’s biggest laughs.

There is rarely a moment throughout the show that is bereft of laughter, a testament to the brilliant comedic timing of the actors, who are aided by some clever use of props, music and lighting. Even when a slight technical issue arises, the talented cast improvise their way through providing many laughs.

Another interesting element of The Complete Works (abridged) is the audience participation utilised during the latter half of the performance, which is devoted exclusively to one of Shakespeare’s most famous plays, Hamlet.

Even though this is not the first year Shakespeare WA has performed The Complete Works (abridged), director Paige Newmark, the cast and crew should be commended for creating a unique and hilarious spin on the English language’s most famed playwright.

The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) runs until 2 February.