The Reduced Shakespeare Company is a three-man comedy team that takes long, serious subjects and reduces them to short, sharp comedies. Since 1981, RSC has created eight stage shows, two TV specials and numerous radio pieces. From fig leaves to final judgment The Bible: The Complete Word of God (abridged) is an affectionate, irreverent look at some of the great theological questions

In the beginning – whose idea was it to create this production?

WELL, The Bible show was written by Austin Tichenor, Reed Martin and Adam Long, says Gary Fannin. The guys had been doing The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) for a few years and in the mid-90s, after having premiered The Complete History of America (abridged), the boys were looking for the next Big Topic to tackle. Someone suggested the Bible.

William Meredith: Being in church as a kid, you didn’t clap or shout when you felt moved, you could only solemnly say “Amen”. That didn’t feel like rejoicing, so I jumped at the chance to have fun with the Good Book.

What can audiences expect from the production?

Gary: If you’ve seen the RSC before (Reduced, that is) you’ll know what our shows are like.

They tend to be like fast-paced roller-coaster rides where we take big subjects and reduce them down to short, sharp comedies. Our philosophy has always been to cut out the boring bits and get to the sex and violence. And let’s face it, the Bible is full of both.

William: Every night we ask the audience who has actually read the entire Bible cover to cover, and in an audience of several hundred, maybe five or six people have. So, really, we feel we’re providing a public service.

Is it all comedy or do you get serious sometimes?

Gary: Most of the stories definitely get a humorous take, but of course we do like to switch things up now and again. As in the Shakespeare show where we do have a beautifully profound moment using the Shakespearean text, we also have a similar moment in the Bible show.

William: Being able to laugh at stories that I always felt I needed to tiptoe around as a child is quite liberating. But, yes, we do take moments in the show to reveal scripture that we feel is best delivered straight, so the next joke lands even harder. Sneaky, no?

There has been some controversy over the show in Ireland, how was that resolved?

Gary: They let us do it in the end. Much Ado About Nothing really. We did get lots of free publicity, but it had very little to do with us. It was really between the local council and the artistic board of the theatre.

William: It was the best publicity we could have wished for. So much so, that some people accused us of orchestrating it ourselves as a publicity stunt. That certainly wasn’t the case, but if ticket sales start dropping, hmm...

Have you had any response from the churchgoing fraternity?

Gary: Of the people who’ve seen it, including clergymen, vicars and nuns, they all loved it and said they would definitely recommend it to their congregations. One even said he would recommended it to his Sunday School kids.

William: My father-in-law is a vicar in the Church of England. He’s seen it twice and is coming back for a third time.

Who is your own personal comedy hero – dead or alive – and why ?

Gary: Mel Brooks.

William: Steve Martin, John Ritter.

  • The Bible: The Compete Word of God (abridged) is at The Witham, Barnard Castle, on March 15 (tickets: 0183-363-1107) and Durham Gala on April 3 (tickets: 0191- 332-4041).