The Good Book Just Got Better! It’s ‘apocalypse now’ as the three cultural guerrillas of the Reduced Shakespeare Company set their reductive sights on the good book with The Bible: The Complete Word of God (abridged).
Can bolts of lightning be far behind? This show is an affectionate, irreverent rollercoaster ride from fig leaves to final judgment as the boys tackle the great theological questions: Did Adam and Eve have navels? Did Moses really look like Charlton Heston?
Whether you are Catholic or Atheist, Muslim or Jew, Protestant or Purple People Eater, you will be tickled by the RSC’s affectionate romp through old time religion as they attempt to condense two Testaments into one hundred madcap minutes. Remember… ‘Someone is watching’.
Reduced Shakespeare Company is a three-man comedy troupe that takes long, serious subjects and reduces them to short, sharp comedies. The “Bad Boys of Abridgement” have created 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.’
Since its 1981 origins as a ‘pass-the-hat’ act in California, the Reduced Shakespeare Company’s itinerary has included stops at the White House, the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center and in London’s West End.
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 Company tours most frequently across the U.S. and Great Britain, and has also performed in Belgium, Holland, Canada, New Zealand, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Barbados, Bermuda, Israel, Ireland and of course Australia, where they have had great success since touring with their first show The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) in 1989.
Long before The Book of Mormon was The Bible – now live onstage – putting the “fun” back into “fundamentalism”. Following Melbourne, it will also be touring to Adelaide, Canberra, Brisbane and Sydney.
The Bible: The Complete Word of God (abridged)
Athenaeum Theatre – Collins Street, Melbourne
Season: 5 – 18 August 2013
Bookings: 13 28 49 or online at: www.ticketek.com.au
