Shakespeare Reduced
The Reduced Shakespeare Company condensed all of Shakespeare’s 37 plays into 97 minutes – now Twitter fans have gone one step further by squeezing the Bard’s greatest plays into just 140 characters or less. For example, take SurvivalGuide’s reworking of Shakespeare’s longest play:
Hamlet: Danish guy’s mum marries his murdered father’s brother. He sees his dad’s ghost. Everyone dies.
The latest craze on Twitter, a social networking site, was triggered by group of Florida students describing The Taming of the Shrew in “Twitter speak” – Now, many of the tweets from the site have been edited into The Little Book of Twitter by writer Tim Collins.
How small can you go? Can you squeeze Romeo and Juliet into just 20 words? Or trim Much Ado About Nothing into only a couple of sentences? Have a go and share your reworkings of Shakespeare on About.com.
Please note: leave your reworkings as a comment to this blog post.
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Comments
Romeo falls for Juliet, vice-versa. Family problems. Marry anyway. Romeo kills Mercutio, banished. Juliet fakes death. Romeo suicides, Juliet ditto.
Romeo and Juliet
Boy likes girl. Girl likes boy. Nobody else likes anybody else. Boy and girl and others die. Everyone sad.
Comedy of Errors
Twins separated. Twins come to town. Everybody mixed up. Twins find each other. Everybody happy.
Henry V
Young King invades France. France threatens he better get back. King wins fight. France says okay. King gets queen.
King Lear
King splits empire. Daughters say okay. Daughters dis’ daddy king. He goes mad. Lots of people die. King sad; dies.
Taming of the Shrew
Unruly daughter gets suitor. Lots of struggle. Daughter now nicer than nice wives and daughters.
Hamlet
Danish Prince’s daddy dies. Momma remarries killer. Ghost haunts. Prince kills and dies. So does most everyone else.
The Tempest
Daddy protects daughter; causes storm; finds suitor; releases daughter to Brave New World.
Richard III
Bad king kills and takes over. Lots more die. Bad king gets killed. Things get a little better.
Julius Ceasar
New emperor gets stabbed and dies. Nice speeches. Stabbers get killed. Bit of a Civil War.
Macbeth
Nobleman kills king and others. Becomes king. Woods Walk. Unborn lives. Nobleman dies.
Merry Wives of Windsor
Knight woes two married women. Married women trick knight. Knight says he is sorry.
Romeo and Juliet
Boy likes girl. Girl likes boy. Nobody else likes anybody else. Boy and girl and others die. Everyone sad.
Comedy of Errors
Twins separated. Twins come to town. Everybody mixed up. Twins find each other. Everybody happy.
Henry V
Young King invades France. France threatens he better get back. King wins fight. France says okay. King gets queen.
King Lear
King splits empire. Daughters say okay. Daughters dis’ daddy king. He goes mad. Lots of people die. King sad; dies.
Taming of the Shrew
Unruly daughter gets suitor. Lots of struggle. Daughter nicer than nice wives and daughters.
Hamlet
Danish Prince’s daddy dies. Momma remarries killer. Ghost haunts. Prince kills and dies. So does most everyone else.
The Tempest
Daddy protects daughter; causes storm; finds suitor; releases daughter to Brave New World.
Richard III
Bad king kills and takes over. Lots more die. Bad king gets killed. Things get a little better.
Julius Ceasar
New emperor gets stabbed and dies. Nice speeches. Stabbers get killed. Bit of a Civil War.
Macbeth
Nobleman kills king and others. Becomes king. Woods Walk. Unborn lives. Nobleman dies.
Merry Wives of Windsor
Knight woes two married women. Married women trick knight. Knight says he is sorry.
Guy with a hard on. Girl gagging for it. Pity, they die. Jealous bit players fall by the wayside.
Richard II. The crown of England’s King Richard II is taken by his cousin, Henry Bolingbroke, who becomes Henry IV, an action that roils England for a century.
Henry IV, Part 1. The young and assured Henry Percy, known as Hotspur, challenges Henry IV, as the king’s son, the somewhat irresponsible Prince Hal, misled in part by Falstaff, listens to his father, becomes a hero, killing Hotspur in a one-on-one duel at Shrewsbury.
Henry IV, Part 2. A new set of insurgents (other than those at Shrewsbury) prepare to fight Henry IV’s forces at Gaultree, but lose bloodlessly, tricked as they were by the king’s third son, Prince John, as separately a seriously ill Henry IV has a serious father-son conversation with Prince Hal (Prince Harry to his dad), who soon becomes Henry V.
Henry V. Facing new taxes, Church leaders encourage a young Henry V to reclaim his title as King of France (and help finance the campaign); the young Henry V in the doing establishing himself as one of England’s all-time heroic figures.
Henry VI, Part 1. Henry VI, crowned king at age eight months, leads an un-led England challenged to hold onto France and its own empire, as royals of all stripes jockey for power.
Henry VI, Part 2. A still young Henry VI, ill-suited, unprepared and with little desire to be king, is surrounded with a mixed set of talented and ambitious men, some looking to be the next king.
Henry VI, Part 3. A weak and vulnerable Henry VI, a king in the Lancaster line of kings, has to deal with a concurrently “appointed” King Edward IV, a descendant in the ambitious York line of the Plantagenet family, as well as deal with a separated wife, as well as other estranged family members.
Richard III. Having murdered Henry VI in London’s Tower in the last play, Richard III, a talented but physically limited young man, becomes king late in the play, having assassinated all who might have blocked him, including brothers, nephews and a wife.
Henry VI, part 1
War & civil war for young king. Joan of Arc dies. Then, peace but probable loss of France
Henry VI, part 2
Ambition & deception. More wars, civil and regular. Sides chosen. Everybody fights. Some die. Everybody waits for part III
Henry VI, part 3
More battles & fights. King loses crown. King regains crown. King loses crown and dies. Richard arrives to begin is play.
Richard III
Bad king kills and takes over. Lots more die. Bad king gets killed. Things get a little better.
Comedy of Errors
Twins separated. Twins come to town. Everybody mixed up. Twins find each other. Everybody happy.
Titus Andronicus
Didn’t want to be emperor. Others did. Deception and killing to a gory end. Titus & others die. Son becomes emperor
Taming of the Shrew
Unruly daughter gets suitor. Lots of struggling. Daughter nicer than nice wives and daughters.
Two Gentlemen of Verona
Two young men go to experience life. Girlfriends don’t like it. Each trick the other and reconcile at the end with all happy romance.
Love’s Labours Lost
Men vow to a think tank. Ladies tease. Men distracted. Want the women. Ladies shun and say the men must wait and earn it
Romeo and Juliet
Boy likes girl. Girl likes boy. Nobody else likes anybody else. Boy and girl and others die. Everyone sad.
Richard II
Tries calm disputes. Banishes debaters. Lots of intrigue and fights. New king declared. Old king dies. New king repents.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Marriage disputes in fairy world. Misuse of love elixir. Everyone loves who they should not. Then, everyone thinks it was a dream
King John
Weak king loses crown. Gets it back. Banished from church, then forgiven. Everyone swaps allegiances. King dies slowly from poison
The Merchant of Venice
All want Portia. Competition and debts cause trouble and dissension. All make up and are happy except for the Jew
Henry IV, part 1
Young prince wants just to have fun. Reunites with father-king to end rebellion; but not all.
Henry IV, part 2
Young prince partying again. Daddy-king unsure. Daddy dies. Young prince says no more parties.
Henry V
Young King invades France. France threatens he better get back. King wins fight. France says okay. King gets queen.
Much Ado About Nothing
Wooing and love and competition gets out of hand. Liar caught. Punishment delayed to keep celebrating.
Julius Ceasar
New emperor gets stabbed and dies. Nice speeches. Stabbers get killed. Bit of a Civil War.
As You Like It
Brother deposes brother. Lovers lie and deceive but get back together, and brother restores brother.
Twelfth Night
Twin loses twin. Mistaken love and sincerity – somebody wants to wed somebody. Twins back together. Everyone gets to marry
Hamlet
Danish Prince’s daddy dies. Momma remarries killer. Ghost haunts. Prince kills and dies. So does most everyone else.
Merry Wives of Windsor
Knight woes two married women. Married women trick knight. Knight says he is sorry.
Troilus and Cressida
Two loves at end of Trojan War lose each other while men fight unfinished war.
All’s Well That Ends Well
Woman weds man. Man goes to war to get away. Woman finds man. Man says he’ll be good.
Measure for Measure
Duke leaves corrupt man in charge. Bad man does bad, but duke not gone. Bad men punished.
Othello
Man covets man’s wife. Lots of deception to get her gets her killed. Killer kills self. Coveter to get it bad.
King Lear
King splits empire. Daughters say okay. Daughters dis’ daddy king. He goes mad. Lots of people die. King sad; dies.
Macbeth
Nobleman kills king and others. Becomes king. Woods Walk. Unborn lives. Nobleman dies.
Antony and Cleopatra
Couple fall in love in civil war. Fighting and loving back and forth. Anguish and suicide result in suicide.
Coriolanus
War hero elected to senate is banished and returns to destroy Rome. Convinced not to do it, but is killed.
Timon of Athens
Parties and gives away money; disheartened; becomes hermit. Finds more money. Remains disheartened and dies.
Pericles, Prince of Tyre
Afraid to answer riddle; flees. Loses daughter. Wanders around. Finds daughter.
Cymbeline
Banishment because of love. Lost relatives found. Everyone figures out the rest at the end.
Winter’s Tale
Friend thinks friend messed with wife. Condemnation and banishment ends with discovery of lost daughter.
The Tempest
Daddy protects daughter; causes storm; finds suitor; releases daughter to Brave New World.
Henry VIII
Corrupt preacher loses favor with king who wants divorce to marry mother of Elizabeth I of England.
The Merchant of Venice.
Jew; his daughter; Merchant; his companion; and Heiress want: revenge; freedom; his companion; Heiress and father’s will, respectively. Chaos ensues.
20 words
Or
Venitian woos Heiress with Merchants usury-free, flesh-owed bond borrowed from hateful but complicated usurer Jew.
16 words
Midsummer Night’s Dream
Fairy King’s trick over Queen mistakenly causes love mish-mash with eloping/chasing Athens court couples. Nevermind, it’s all a Dream.
21 words.
Titus Andronicus
After raped daughter and murdered sons, Roman nobleman makes Goth Queen eat son in early tarantino-esque bloody thriller.
18 words.
…and it’s all sooo enchanting. Didn’t Willie talk most elegant?
Romeo & Juliet
I blame Friar Laurence; used lovers to mend feud; ridiculous plan involving poison ends in fiasco due to slow transport.
King Henry V sails off to France to defeat the French at Agincourt and returns to England with a Queen.