meet the bard

Billed as a quick-witted and raucous "romp" through all of Shakespeare's plays, the Duke Players, in partnership with the Department of Theater Studies, present the hilarious feature Meet the Bard, directed by senior Rob Baird.

In a breathtaking 75 minutes, sophomore Michael Bergen, senior Ben Zisk and Jack McDonald, a former recess staff member, comically race through all 37 plays by the legendary playwright.

Replete with vomit jokes, contemporary television references and a tattered red wig, the play is quite simply a delightful bastardization of Billy Shakes' classics. Not only is the tongue-in-cheek tone of the play engaging, but the actors actually enlist the involvement and help of the audience.

Renouncing characters and strict roles, the actors all use their own names and partake freely in improvisation throughout the play, inserting their own pop-culture references and off-the-cuff jokes. Despite only having 12 days to put the play together, the Duke Players execute a high-energy and smooth-flowing performance.

Originally titled The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged), the play was written by the Reduced Shakespeare Company and first performed in 1987. After the actors introduce themselves to the audience, they jump right into the show with a parody of Romeo and Juliet. Next up, a cooking show featuring Titus Andronicus as a host seeking twisted revenge, followed by a quick summary of Othello-... in the form of a rap.

Having successfully mocked the Bard's dramas, the actors then spin his 16 comedies into one irreverent and endearing play, compress all 10 histories into a football analogy and creatively reduce Julius Caesar to a death scene, all before intermission. Hamlet, the play some revere as Shakespeare's greatest work, comprises the second act and showcases an emo version of the title character. Needless to say, the high-speed hilarity continues.

"The greatest thing about this play is that the script has a wide appeal," Bergen said. "With the [addition] of improvisation, we are able to be creative and to give a different performance every night."

Meet the Bard is guaranteed to entertain everyone from the well-read Shakespeare aficionado to the student whose only foray into Shakespeare involved Cliffs Notes.