Three men in tights defy the rules of time to squeeze 37 plays into 97 minutes as they romp through The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) [revised].

Actor Garry Fannin sums up the show’s concept as: "Taking great works of art off their pedestals and rolling around with them in the mud to make short, sharp comedies."

The Reduced Shakespeare Company, appearing in Epsom next month, boils each of the Bard’s plays down to its essence and compiles the lot in a digestible, inventive way.

Expect topical, sometimes irreverent, jokes such as Scottish independence in Macbeth which Fannin guarantees "goes down a treat up there."

He breezily explains: "We cut out all the boring bits and go straight to all the sex and violence.

"My maths dictates that there are 1,122 characters across Shakespeare’s plays which is simply too many.

"This means hundreds of parts and numerous hasty costume changes each in a play described by the New York Times as ‘irresistible’.

Othello is a rap, Julius Caesar snatches just 15 seconds of limelight and the Histories are seen through an American football match.

He confirms he has played Hamlet more times than Lawrence Olivier and John Gielgud combined, with "many more laughs than they ever had."

He promises it is fun Shakespeare and even suitable for five year-olds with slapstick humour and costumes pairing colourful tights with Converse trainers.

He admits that occasionally die-hard Shakespeare fans mistakenly arrive with their complete Shakespeare volume expecting to follow the action word for word.

To add to their impressive international tour destinations, Reduced performed Shakespeare on an Easyjet flight to Verona this year.

To celebrate Shakespeare’s 450th birthday on April 23 the troupe performed at over 37,000ft and became Guinness World Record holders for the highest theatrical performance ever.

Fannin humorously describes tearing up the aisle and shouting to be heard over the air conditioning.

The show is London’s longest-running comedy with nine years at the West End and glowing New York Times reviews.

Asked whether Reduced Shakespeare might, one day, perform at The Globe in Stratford he jests: "We’re still waiting on that call".

Complete Works of Shakespeare by The Reduced Shakespeare Company, Epsom Playhouse, Ashley Avenue, Epsom; Tuesday, November 18, 7.30pm; from £16; call 01372 724555; visit www.epsomplayhouse.co.uk.