(Clockwise from bottom): Nathan Hollis, Jason Gallagher and Collin Blackard perform "Othello Rap" in "The Complete Works of William Shakespeare Abridged."

OBU Theatre Presents “The Complete Works of Shakespeare Abridged”

November 10, 2005

Presenting all 37 of Shakespeare’s plays in 97 minutes, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare Abridged is London’s longest-running comedy, now in its eighth year at the Criterion Theatre. The much celebrated show will be presented in Oklahoma Baptist University’s Craig-Dorland Theatre, Nov. 15-17, 7:30 p.m.

Written by Adam Long, Daniel Singer and Jess Winfield, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare Abridged was first performed in 1981 by the Reduced Shakespeare Company. It was praised by the Montreal Gazette as “the funniest show you are likely to see in your entire lifetime.”

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“The Complete Works of William Shakespeare Abridged is a fast paced and energetic show consisting of three men trying to do all 37 of Shakespeare’s plays in less than two hours,” said director Robert Christiansen, a senior theatre major from Kalama, Wash. “In doing so, they make very long plays very short and very fun at the same time.

“They have a fun way of attacking what can sometimes be considered a stale text. You will still see them up there in Shakespearian attire, but they will be using what they have around them to make it current for the audience. For instance, Titus Andronicus, one of Shakespeare’s lesser known plays, is done as a cooking show.”

The three men performing in the production are Collin Blackard, a junior theatre major from Idabel, Okla.; Jason Gallagher, a freshman journalism major from Mansfield, Texas; and Nathan Hollis, junior theatre major from Clovis, N.M.

To purchase tickets, contact the OBU box office at 405-878-2347. The office is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. until 4:30 p.m., in Sarkeys Telecommunications Center. Tickets are $7 for adults and students.

Other OBU theatre productions slated for this school year are The BFG in February and The Fantasticks in April.