A salt and pepper pot for the king and queen. A ruler for the prince. A spoon for the servant. Lighter fluid for the Innkeeper. A water bottle for the messenger.
One by one, over 6 days, Forced Entertainment performers condense every Shakespeare play ever written into a series of 36 intimate and lovingly made miniatures, played out on a one metre table-top using a collection of un-extraordinary everyday objects.
Forced Entertainment have long had an obsession with virtual or described performance, exploring in different ways over the years the possibilities of conjuring extraordinary scenes, images and narratives using language alone. In a brand new direction for the company, Complete Works explores the dynamic force of narrative in a simple and idiosyncratic summary of Shakespeare’s comedies, tragedies, histories and late plays, creating worlds as vivid as they are strange.
Since forming Forced Entertainment in 1984, the six core members of the group have sustained a unique artistic partnership for more than 30 years, confirming their position as trailblazers in contemporary theatre. The company’s substantial canon of work reflects an interest in the mechanics of performance, the role of the audience and the machinations of contemporary urban life. The work is distinctive and provocative, delighting in disrupting the conventions of theatre and the expectations of audiences. Forced Entertainment’s trademark collaborative process – devising work as a group through improvisation, experimentation and debate – has made them pioneers of British avant-garde theatre and earned them an unparalleled international reputation.
2016 the company was awarded with the prestigious International Ibsen Award.
Forced Entertainment “Complete Works: Table Top Shakespeare” in Tallinn schedule:
Tuesday 5.09
18:00 Antony and Cleopatra by Cathy Naden
19:00 The Merchant of Venice by Nicki Hobday
20:00 Coriolanus by Jerry Killick
21:00 As You Like It by Robin Arthur
Wednesday 6.09
18:00 Richard II by Terry O’Connor
19:00 Henry IV Part 1 by Jerry Killick
20:00 Henry IV Part 2 by Jerry Killick
21:00 Much Ado About Nothing by Richard Lowdon
Thursday 7.09
18:00 Henry V by Nicki Hobday
19:00 Pericles by Cathy Naden
20:00 The Comedy of Errors by Terry O’Connor
21:00 King Lear by Robin Arthur
Friday 8.09
18:00 Henry VI Part1 by Richard Lowdon
19:00 Henry VI Part 2 by Richard Lowdon
20:00 Henry VI Part 3 by Richard Lowdon
21:00 Twelfth Night by Jerry Killick
Saturday 9.09
12:00 Othello by Cathy Naden
13:00 All’s Well That Ends Well by Nicki Hobday
14:00 Julius Caesar by Robin Arthur
15:00 The Merry Wives of Windsor by Terry O’Connor
16:00 Macbeth by Richard Lowdon
18:00 Richard III by Nicki Hobday
19:00 Troilus and Cressida by Jerry Killick
20:00 The Winter’s Tale by Cathy Naden
21:00 Loves Labour’s Lost by Robin Arthur
22:00 Hamlet by Terry O’Connor
Sunday 10.09
12:00 Titus Andronicus by Robin Arthur
13:00 Taming of the Shrew by Nicki Hobday
14:00 Cymbeline by Terry O’Connor
15:00 King John by Cathy Naden
16:00 A Midsummer Night’s Dream by Jerry Killick
18:00 Romeo and Juliet by Terry O’Connor
19:00 Timon of Athens by Robin Arthur
20:00 Measure for Measure by Cathy Naden
21:00 Two Gentlemen of Verona by Nicki Hobday
22:00 The Tempest by Richard Lowdon
Thanks to the RSC My Shakespeare initiative, which commissioned Tim Etchells’ Be Stone No More, an early, development version of this project, as well as to the people who participated in that phase of the work.
Forced Entertainment Creative Team Robin Arthur, Tim Etchells (Artistic Director), Richard Lowdon (Designer), Claire Marshall, Cathy Naden and Terry O’Connor.
Forced Entertainment Management Team Eileen Evans (Executive Director), Jim Harrison (Production Manager), and Natalie Simpson (Office Manager).
“Forced Entertainment, having daringly shaken up traditional approaches to theatre and performance, make for playful and thought-provoking works.” PLAYS TO SEE
“The Complete Works excel in their simplicity.” THE STAGE
“A tiny boat ride across an infinite sea of plot.” FOREST FRINGE (ANDY FIELD VIA TWITTER)
“It’s a reminder that one person – armed with a story and some bric-a-brac – can create colossal worldS.” THE STAGE
“Is it possible for a jar of Roses lime marmalade to blush?” THE GUARDIAN
“If you told me a few days ago I would feel genuine empathy for a bottle of Tabasco, I’d have probably laughed in your face and called you crazy.” A YOUNGER THEATRE
Website: www.forcedentertainment.com/
Facebook www.facebook.com/pages/Forced-Entertainment/247617408590375
Twitter @ForcedEnts
