📍 Complete Works of William Shakespeare Abridged - Tom Pavey

On Southampton’s Voice FM Arts and Culture, actor Tom Pavey talks about the touring production The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged), a fast, updated comic run through all 37 plays arriving at Mayflower Studios from 15–18 April. Tom, making his professional debut, says he’s thrilled to be paid to do what he loves and excited to tour the UK, especially as audiences have laughed nonstop despite the show’s heavy reliance on audience reaction and interactive moments. He and Xan discuss how the production echoes Shakespeare’s original “theatre for the people” spirit, and Tom stresses you don’t need to be a Shakespeare fan or know the plays because the show is a chaotic, sketch-like mashup rather than chronological. He also shares his fondness for Shakespearean insults and notes they cherry-pick iconic lines.