Forced Entertainment Complete Works Table Top Shakespeare
36 micro-performances for limited audiences seated on the Royce Hall Stage
Tue, Dec 6 - Sun, Dec 11
Royce Hall Stage
It’s a reminder that one person – armed with a story and some bric-a-brac – can create colossal worlds."
The Stage
One by one, over 6 days, Forced Entertainment performers condense 36 Shakespeare plays into a series of works of less than an hour each played out on a one meter tabletop – each play comically and intimately retold via a series of lovingly made miniatures and a collection of everyday unextraordinary objects.
Forced Entertainment have long had an obsession conjuring extraordinary scenes, images and narratives using condensed language with precise implications. In this remarkable departure 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.
Food OptionsBeat the traffic, and join us Tuesday – Friday at 4pm for tea and scones and other late afternoon pickme-ups. Afternoon tea will also be available in the breaks on Saturday and Sunday – our marathon days. Want a more substantial meal? Lunch and dinner options are available for PRE-ORDER.
Have a pint on us!Share a pint with Forced Entertainment and fellow audience members after the final play each night - 10pm on weekdays and 11pm on weekends. The bar will be open and pouring.
Tue, Dec 6
Program A - 5pmThe Merchant of Venice + Richard II
Presented in partnership with the British Council and in conjunction with the Library Foundation of Los Angeles’ initiative, America’s Shakespeare: The Bard Goes West. Additional support provided by Anne Marie Spataru.
36
plays in 6 days?
Yes, it can be done!
Tuesday - Friday:4 plays each night
Saturday and Sunday:Run the marathon– 10 plays on each day
Art In Action
Art in Action is CAP UCLA's free, public engagement platform that offers a wide range of experiential arts activities.
Writing the Landscape: Forced Entertainment’s re-telling of Shakespeare’s plays, forced us to do some re-thinking about our relationship to words and stories. The CAP Poetry Bureau returns to Royce Hall with a new twist: Sonnets on Demand. Get a modern, custom-made sonnet from one of our Bureau Poets, Dec 6-11 during the dinner break. Post it on our Sonnet Board or give it as a gift to a beloved…
Talks & Texts: Join our colleagues from UCLA's Clark Library, as they feature selections from the Chrzanowski Collection, rare texts and manuscripts that Shakespeare likely read or could have read. Check out the full schedule of talks and exhibits here.
Tea & Tunes: Join us Tuesday-Friday for High Tea between 4-5pm, and Sat/Sun from 2-3pm featuring early music from the Wessex Consort.
ABOUT FORCED ENTERTAINMENT
Forced Entertainment is a Sheffield-based theatre company founded in 1984. Touring and presenting their ground-breaking provocative performances across the UK, mainland Europe, North America, Japan, Australia and further afield, the group has sustained a unique collaborative practise for more than thirty years. Led by the artist and writer Tim Etchells, the Forced Entertainment company includes designer and performer Richard Lowdon alongside performers Robin Arthur, Claire Marshall, Cathy Naden and Terry O’Connor. Over the years this core ensemble has been augmented by contributions from many guest artists and performers. In March 2016 Forced Entertainment became the first ever UK based recipients of one of theatre’s most prestigious awards, The International Ibsen Award. Honouring extraordinary contribution to art and culture, it is awarded every two years by the Norwegian government. The first ever group to win the prize, Forced Entertainment will receive the Award during the International Ibsen Festival at the National Theatre in Oslo in September.
Art In Action
