Bucks &amp; Oxon

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="2000" height="1334" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/02/Efe-Book.jpg" alt="Efe Complete Works abridged " class="wp-image-202355" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/02/Efe-Book.jpg 2000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/02/Efe-Book-800x534.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/02/Efe-Book-1000x667.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/02/Efe-Book-400x267.jpg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/02/Efe-Book-1536x1025.jpg 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Efé Agwele, photo: Mark Senior</figcaption></figure>



It’d be fair to label The Reduced Shakespeare Company’s <a href="https://www.chippingnortontheatre.com/events/the-complete-works-of-shakespeare-abridged" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged)</a> as ‘organised chaos’, and fittingly that’s exactly how our evening was going before we even took our seats at the characterful and cosy <a href="https://www.chippingnortontheatre.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Chipping Norton Theatre</a>. 



A rush hour race down the M40 was followed by a ‘dodge the pothole’ crawl into Chippy, then one of us turned our ankle on the quaint market town cobbles when sprinting to make it for the 7:30pm showing. We collapsed into the stalls just in the nick of time and our caper was very on brand for the play at hand; a rollercoaster ride through Shakespeare’s greatest hits and back catalogue, sonnets included, performed at high speed, backwards and even in the format of a YouTube cookery tutorial (Titus Andronicus, ‘like and subscribe’).&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="2000" height="1334" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/02/Efe-Woogie-Tom-Titus-Andronicus.jpg" alt="Complete Works of Shakespeare abridged cookery scene" class="wp-image-202356" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/02/Efe-Woogie-Tom-Titus-Andronicus.jpg 2000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/02/Efe-Woogie-Tom-Titus-Andronicus-800x534.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/02/Efe-Woogie-Tom-Titus-Andronicus-1000x667.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/02/Efe-Woogie-Tom-Titus-Andronicus-400x267.jpg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/02/Efe-Woogie-Tom-Titus-Andronicus-1536x1025.jpg 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: Mark Senior</figcaption></figure>



The original play debuted 45 years ago and has been staged everywhere from fringe festivals to the West End, and in over 20 countries. It turns out that distilling Shakespeare’s oeuvre into a funny, digestible 75 minute rollick is a very good shout. This time Chipping Norton Theatre has teamed up with theatre production company Selladoor Worldwide to bring the RSC’s (not that one) headliner to the Cotswolds, and it’s a riot.&nbsp;



On paper the task seems unwieldy and the maths doesn’t math; all of Shakespeare’s repertoire is introduced, narrated and played out by just three cast members: Efé Agwele, Woogie Jung and Tom Pavey. Each actor plays themselves as well as a sequence of the bard’s bigger and lesser known stars, with Agwele also taking on the role of the Shakespeare academic who lays out the gist of what’s ahead and interjects to keep the theatrical buffet on track. Pavey, meanwhile, dons almost as many wigs as there are plays in repping Shakespeare’s female characters, from a not really that bothered Juliet to melodramatic Ophelia.&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="2000" height="1334" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/02/Tom-Juliet.jpg" alt="Tom Pavey Juliet" class="wp-image-202354" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/02/Tom-Juliet.jpg 2000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/02/Tom-Juliet-800x534.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/02/Tom-Juliet-1000x667.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/02/Tom-Juliet-400x267.jpg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/02/Tom-Juliet-1536x1025.jpg 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Tom Pavey as Juliet, photo: Mark Senior</figcaption></figure>



The show opens with a whirlwind performance of Romeo &amp; Juliet &nbsp;in which lines from the OG script are interwoven with contemporary gags and dialogue, and that sets the tone before we transition into the aforementioned revenge tragedy as cookery show and consolidation of all of Shakespeare’s comedies at once. You’ll soon see that Will had a winning formula there. The histories, meanwhile, are energetically acted out as a football match with neat running commentary (enter Cleopatra wig) and by the end of the first half we’ve lost two cast members completely, such is the chaos. Woogie is left to kill time solo and resorts to a pretty impressive pre-interval operatic aria to entertain the (full) house.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="2000" height="1334" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/02/Woogie.jpg" alt="Woogie Complete Works Abridged" class="wp-image-202353" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/02/Woogie.jpg 2000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/02/Woogie-800x534.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/02/Woogie-1000x667.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/02/Woogie-400x267.jpg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/02/Woogie-1536x1025.jpg 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Woogie Jung, photo: Mark Senior</figcaption></figure>



The second half is a Hamlet-a-thon, with Shakespeare’s longest play explored from every angle, speed and direction. Watch out for the satanic messaging and beware of Ophelia’s reverse drowning if you’re sitting in the FROW during the back-to-front take. Speaking of seats, if you’re in the first two rows you’re in the audience participation danger zone. Your handbag could be swiped (temporarily) or you may be called upon to enact Ophelia’s state of mind through cardio, so consider that when booking.&nbsp;



Which, by the way, I highly recommend you do. Amidst the slapstick and silliness, there’s impressive soliloquies and pin-drop moments, particularly when Pavey delivers Hamlet’s ‘What a piece of work is man’ monologue. The tone shift is artful and it’s incredibly moving, at least until the other two decide to cut it from the Hamlet speech mix tape. The production is brilliantly resourceful too; deliberately misplaced spotlights add to the laughs and while there’s very little set to speak of, an ever-changing conveyor of props, costumes and even a body double mean that flashy backdrops are superfluous. ‘Bob’ also brings up the house lights regularly to take the action into the audience and make full use of the theatre square footage. FYI anyone who’s not in the cast is called ‘Bob’ for ease, including us.&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="2000" height="1334" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/02/Woogie-and-Tom-Hamlet.jpg" alt="Hamlet Complete Works of Shakespeare abridged " class="wp-image-202357" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/02/Woogie-and-Tom-Hamlet.jpg 2000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/02/Woogie-and-Tom-Hamlet-800x534.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/02/Woogie-and-Tom-Hamlet-1000x667.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/02/Woogie-and-Tom-Hamlet-400x267.jpg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/02/Woogie-and-Tom-Hamlet-1536x1025.jpg 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: Mark Senior</figcaption></figure>



The finale is raucous, the actors are high-energy shapeshifters throughout and the intimate setting allows for instant connection with the audience. Just watch out for Tom Pavey swiping your purse while you&#8217;re mulling over Shakespeare’s canon. You have until Sat 28 Feb to get in on the abridged action, so act fast (that’s the general vibe around here tbf).&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-muddy-verdict">THE MUDDY VERDICT</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="2000" height="1334" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/02/Efe-Puppets.jpg" alt="Efe Hamnet puppet show" class="wp-image-202358" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/02/Efe-Puppets.jpg 2000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/02/Efe-Puppets-800x534.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/02/Efe-Puppets-1000x667.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/02/Efe-Puppets-400x267.jpg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/02/Efe-Puppets-1536x1025.jpg 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: Mark Senior</figcaption></figure>



Good for: Anyone craving a light-hearted, high-spirited trip to the theatre that’ll make you appreciate the classics in a whole new light, or indeed for the first time. It’d also be an excellent watch for young adults studying Shakespeare’s set texts at GCSE or A-level; they won’t forget the story arcs of Macbeth et al in a hurry after this. The tour starts in Chippy before setting off around the UK so you’re seeing it here first too.&nbsp;



Not for: Look, this isn’t the RSC as you know it, so Hamnet five-ways and a vomiting Ophelia may not be for the Shakespeare puritans.&nbsp;



<a href="https://www.chippingnortontheatre.com/events/the-complete-works-of-shakespeare-abridged" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) </a>is on at The Chipping Norton Theatre until Sat 28 Feb. <a href="https://www.chippingnortontheatre.com/events/the-complete-works-of-shakespeare-abridged#dates-and-times" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Book tickets here.</a>&nbsp;

Review: The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged), Chipping Norton Theatre

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