The Complete Works of William Shakespeare makes it Toowoomba debut

The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) is landing at Toowoomba Repertory Theatre for two guaranteed wild weeks

To be there or not to be there, that is the question.

That’s right, Toowoomba’s Repertory Theatre is putting on The Complete Works of William Shakespeare for two weeks, and it would be a tragedy to miss it.

The original play was first launched at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 1987 and was an instant hit. Translated into 30 languages and performed all over the globe, the performance quickly became a cult classic in the theatre world.

And now it’s finally made its way to the Garden City.

Toowoomba Repertory Theatre actors Peter Bevan & Helen Holmes in final rehearsals for the theatre production of the popular comedy The Complete Works of Shakespeare (Abridged).

Sherree Halliwell is the director of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare for the Toowoomba Repertory Theatre and says she has been dying to direct and put on the show at a community theatre for years.

“I’m just so excited that Toowoomba wanted to have a crack at it. It’s a bit of a risk for the theatre especially considering works from William Shakespeare haven’t been done here for about five years,” Ms Halliwell said.

“I’m excited to resurrect the public’s love for it with our incredible show.”

Actors, Helen Holmes and Peter Bevan are no strangers to the Repertory theatre stage while, Roger Redgrave is a newcomer to Toowoomba and a long-time friend of Ms Halliwell from Royal Shakespeare Company.

Together, the three attempt to present 37 of Shakespeare’s plays in two hours in a fun, frantic, and absolutely hilarious manner.

“And that’s all part of the charm. To think you can put on a play that covers 1222 characters across all of Shakespeare’s works under the notion that three people can do it is just utterly crazy,” Ms Halliwell said.

“ … it has a huge following and for community theatre to put on something that’s this complicated … and it’s just such a complex play to direct and choreograph, it’s a big undertaking, and it doesn’t get done by many community theatres.”

Toowoomba Repertory Theatre actors Peter Bevan & Helen Holmes in final rehearsals for the theatre production of the popular comedy The Complete Works of Shakespeare (Abridged).

With 80 props, over 60 costumes, and enough entrances and exits to make you dizzy, the show is guaranteed to have you crying from laughter.

“Actors are sliding on their knees across the stage, jumping up and stabbing each other, running back and forward and off and on stage. We are doing Shakespeare as you wouldn’t expect.” Ms Halliwell said.

“It’s all a bit of a challenge for them as it is for me, we’ve all got gym memberships now because we have to do so much.”

“These people have been so dedicated and so passionate, and coming in on weekends, doing extra rehearsals. We stretch the actors beyond the capability of community theatre … and they have come through so brilliantly. I am just so proud of the hard work the actors put in to get to that point.”

Ms Halliwell explains that the play was written to be adapted to the actors, and audience.

“It is supposed to be improvised … there’s a lot of audience interaction and there’s no fourth wall in this we talk directly to the audience throughout the whole play. So it is adapted for our Toowoomba audience definitely.” Ms Halliwell said.

The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) will be running from Wednesday, September 19 until Saturday, September 30.

Tickets can be purchased on trybooking.com or on the Toowoomba Repertory Theatre website.