Captain Tempest isn't the only north American giving Shakespeare a mauling in Bradford next week.

The cast of the Reduced Shakespeare Company brings its much acclaimed and extremely speedy Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) to St George's Hall for a two-night engagement.

"What Shakespeare needed was a good editor," says Christian Malcolm, a Canadian actor who in company with two others rips through 37 plays in 97 minutes.

"We're bringing his work to a Nineties society that has Attention Deficit Disorder," he says.

"We're probably losing money by doing this - we could have sold 37 tickets instead of just one. But it's not about money; this is our gift to the nation.

"And it's not that we're taking the Mickey - we acknowledge that Shakespeare's plays are masterpieces. It's just that sometimes you don't have time in your life for a masterpiece."

The RSC (Reduced) has triumphed on both sides of the Atlantic with its "edited highlights" approach to theatre. This original Complete Works show has now begotten abridged versions of the Bible, the United States of America, and now, the Millennium.

"1066 and Monica Lewinsky - that more or less covers the last 1,000 years," says Malcolm.

"For Canada, we did an even shorter version of Shakespeare's works," he adds. "We finished them inside an hour. But the Canadians got a little lost.

"I recommend Canada to anyone, by the way. Just don't live there."

David Behrens

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