From Library Journal
Did Romeo and Juliet have premarital sex? Did Hamlet have an edible complex (as documented by numerous food references in the play)? The Reduced Shakespeare Company asks this and more. This tape, originally produced for the BBC, will find a devoted audience among PDQ Bach fans. Despite all the bells and whistles, three American actors have an uncanny knack for picking out the crucial words in each play. Favourite Shakespeare, partially reliant on a poll conducted by Classic FM magazine, is extremely well abridged. The editors contend that the best way to understand Shakespeare is through his people. Beginning with the seven ages of man, these tapes do the delicate job of uniting the bard's men and women into one tragicomic whole. Six actors and actresses read from the plays, while interspersed sonnets offer more personal views of the writer's thoughts and theories. These are well narrated, with extremely cogent commentary by John Brunning. Neither of these tapes should be allowed near an academic library, but both will hopefully find homes in public, if antipodal, audio collections.?Rochelle Ratner, formerly with "Soho Weekly News," New York
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From AudioFile
Four young Canadian males, calling themselves the Reduced Shakespeare Company, romp manically over Shakespeare's grave. Owing no little to the Marx Brothers, the "Goon Show" and "Beyond the Fringe," they are neither particularly original or clever, but they are, nonetheless, very, very funny, especially to those who enjoy iconoclastic, sophomoric humor or who hate Shakespeare, or both. Y.R. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine
