STAUNTON, VA – A dream team of American Shakespeare Center (ASC) veterans will take the stage for a three-week engagement of the hit comedy THE COMPLETE WORKS OF SHAKESPEARE (ABRIDGED) [REVISED] [AGAIN]. This fast-paced, hilarious show distills all 37 of Shakespeare’s plays into 97-minute thrill ride that leaves audiences helpless with laughter.

The three-person cast includes some of ASC audiences’ favorite actors: Matt Radford Davies, Benjamin Reed, and Natasia Reinhardt. Beloved by audiences for their stellar performances, these are also familiar faces around the Staunton area:

• An Associate Professor in the MLitt/MFA Shakespeare and Performance program at Mary Baldwin University, Matt Radford Davies is a professional actor and director of twenty years standing in the UK and the US. Matt directed the 2017 ASC production of Love’s Labor’s Lost and made his debut on the Blackfriars Stage in 2020 as Fabian in Twelfth Night and Brabantio in Othello.
• Benjamin Reed joined the resident company in 2014 and has performed more than 56 roles in his ten seasons with ASC, including Laertes in Hamlet; Antonio in Antonio’s Revenge; Arbaces in A King and No King; Peter in Peter and the Starcatcher; and Claudio in Much Ado About Nothing. A whiz with a sword or a tussle, Ben has served as Fight Director for three seasons. When he is not acting, Benjamin keeps is busy running two of Staunton’s most popular downtown restaurants: The Green Room and Remedy Burger.
• Natasia Reinhardt is ASC’s Associate Artistic Director. As an actor, some of Natasia’s most memorable ASC roles include the First Witch in Macbeth and Mariana in All’s Well that Ends Well. Natasia also serves as ASC Intimacy Choreographer, working with actors to create compelling and safe performances in plays including Romeo and Juliet, The Comedy of Errors, Twelfth Night, Thrive, or What You Will, Pass Over, The Tempest, A Christmas Carol, and other plays. Natasia received her MFA from Mary Baldwin University and studied under her co-actor Matt Radford Davies and ASC co-founder Ralph Alan Cohen.

An irresistible romp, THE COMPLETE WORKS OF SHAKESPEARE (ABRIDGED) [REVISED] [AGAIN] is a new 2022 version of the original The Complete Works of Shakespeare (abridged) that played a record-breaking nine-year run in London, and has since been performed around the world, winning rave reviews like these:

“Stupendous…joy!” – The London Times

“Pithier than Python. Irresistible.” – The New York Times

“If you like Shakespeare, you’ll like this show. If you hate Shakespeare, you’ll love this show!” – The Today Show

“A madcap condensation that features nonstop laughs. Done at a whirlwind pace and with great delight, they are sure to win over even the most skeptical. And there is no doubt that William Shakespeare himself … would approve.” – Daily Variety

“The funniest show you are likely to see in your entire lifetime.” – The Montreal Gazette

The original version of this long-running hit was penned by Adam Long, Daniel Singer and Jess Winfield; this new version, updated for 2020s audiences, was “revised” by Singer and Winfield. All three of the authors logged countless hours performing and perfecting the fabulously farcical concoction that has kept audiences in stitches for decades; now they turn the reins over to a cast of American Shakespeare Center professionals who promise to flay your favorite Bard bywords and flog every joke within an inch of its life.

Tickets for THE COMPLETE WORKS OF SHAKESPEARE (ABRIDGED) [REVISED] [AGAIN] are on sale now, online at AmericanShakespeareCenter.com, by phone at 540-851-1733 or 1-877-MUCH-ADO, or in person at the Blackfriars Playhouse Box Office, 10 South Market St., Staunton.

About the American Shakespeare Center

The American Shakespeare Center recovers the joys and accessibility of Shakespeare’s theatre, language, and humanity by exploring the English Renaissance stage and its practices through performance and education. Year-round in Staunton’s Blackfriars Playhouse — the world’s only re-creation of Shakespeare’s indoor theatre — ASC’s innovative programming and “shamelessly entertaining” (The Washington Post) productions have shared the delights of Shakespeare, modern classics and new plays with millions over the past 30 years. Beyond the Playhouse, ASC is a hub for Shakespeare education and scholarship. Founded in 1988 as Shenandoah Shakespeare Express, the organization became the American Shakespeare Center in 2005 and can be found online at www.americanshakespearecenter.com and on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.