Thursday, December 4, 2008

RSC Rocks Complete Works (Abridged) [Revised]

It's been a busy fall.  In addition to plugging away on my second novel, I finished up my adaptation of William Shakespeare's The Tempest for Starz Film Roman... now comes the long process of trying to get it actually made.  I am, as always, cautiously optimistic.

I also had the time-warping experience of joining current Reduced Shakespeare Company mavens Reed Martin and Austin Tichenor for rehearsals of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) [revised] in L.A. a couple of weeks ago. The updated text is based on the work original RSC founder Daniel Singer and I did on the script for a twentieth-anniversary West End run last summer.  A few tweaks were required to make the show US-friendly, and Reed, Austin and I took the opportunity to play with a few new gags and refinements as well.  The RSC is now up and running with the revised text at the Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami. Check out the excellent review of the revised show in the Miami Herald.

For those of you in the US who have never seen an officially-sponsored, author-approved, Reduced Shakespeare Company performance of the show, this and the RSC tour coming next year is the one to see.

You might want to check out episode #104 of The Reduced Shakespeare Company Podcast.  It features an interview with yours truly about the whys and wherefores of the updated script.