Pop-Up Shakespeare: Every Play and Poem in Pop-Up 3D
From The Reduced Shakespeare Company
Illustrations by Jennie Maizels
Candlewick
Learn about all of Shakespeare's plays in one book!
Read about William Shakespeare's plays, sonnets, and poems as you never have before in an entertaining pop-up book collaboration between the internationally known comedy troupe the Reduced Shakespeare Company and best-selling illustrator Jennie Maizels. Featuring five interactive spreads filled with dramatic pop-ups, fun foldouts, hilarious summaries, and fascinating commentaries, this is the perfect introduction to one of the world's greatest playwrights and his enduring works.
Just in time to celebrate poetry month, comes a delightful and fun book all about the great poet himself: William Shakespeare! Pop-Up Shakespeare: Every Play and Poem in Pop-Up 3D is bursting with everything you could want to know about Shakespeare, his life, and his numerous works.
In this book, the life and work of Shakespeare is presented in a fresh, fun new way through pop-ups, foldouts, laugh-out-loud facts and comments. Concise and simplified for readers of all ages, this book offers an educational and engaging experience. Lively, charming illustrations wonderfully bring the rich and complex history and impact of Shakespeare to life. I found myself completely absorbed and captivated by this book.
Perfect for Shakespeare fans and those just meeting him, Pop-Up Shakespeare: Every Play and Poem in Pop-Up 3D is a fantastic and dazzling book!
About The Reduced Shakespeare Company
Since its pass-the-hat origins in 1981, the Reduced Shakespeare Company has created ten world-renowned stage shows, two television specials, several failed TV pilots, and numerous radio pieces, all of which have been performed, seen, and heard the world over. The company’s itinerary has included stops off-Broadway, at the White House, the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, London’s West End, Seattle Repertory Theatre, American Repertory Theatre and Montreal’s famed Just For Laughs Festival, as well as performances in Israel, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Japan, Malta, Singapore and Bermuda, plus countless civic and university venues throughout the USA, the UK, and Europe.
The company’s first three shows, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged), The Complete History of America (abridged) and The Bible: The Complete Word of God (abridged) ran for over nine years at the Criterion Theatre in Piccadilly Circus. They were London’s longest-running comedies, and the RSC had more shows running in the West End than Andrew Lloyd Webber. They were also funnier.
In 2016, in honor of the company’s 35th anniversary and the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death, the RSC premiered its tenth stage show, William Shakespeare’s Long Lost First Play (abridged), at the Folger Shakespeare Theatre in Washington DC. In 2013 the “Bad Boys of Abridgment” unveiled The Complete History of Comedy (abridged) – to critical and commercial acclaim at both Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park and Merrimack Repertory Theatre, as well as on national tours of the the USA and UK. The Complete World of Sports (abridged) opened in 2010 at Merrimack Rep and after touring the USA and UK, ran at the Arts Theatre in London during the 2012 London Olympics. In 2011 came the world premiere of The Ultimate Christmas Show (abridged) which became Merrimack Repertory Theatre’s best-selling holiday show ever, and the third-best-selling show in MRT’s history and also enjoyed a successful run at San Diego Repertory Theatre as well as multiple tours across the USA.
The RSC applied its fast, funny and physical approach to World History in Western Civilization: The Complete Musical (abridged) [original title: The Complete Millennium Musical (abridged)], which toured simultaneously in the US, UK and Australia) and condensed literature into a 90-minute roller-coaster ride in All the Great Books (abridged), which has played to great acclaim at the Kennedy Center, Pittsburgh Public Theatre, San Diego Repertory Theatre, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Seattle’s ACT Theatre, and Alabama Shakespeare Festival, as well as Great Britain, Holland, Ireland, and Sweden (in Swedish!). They skewered the 186 greatest movies of all time Completely Hollywood (abridged), which has received critical kudos across the US and UK, as well as Belgium, Holland, Hong Kong, and Barbados.
For TV, the RSC compressed the first five seasons of Lost into a ten-minute film called Lost Reduced, and was a Jeopardy! category in the 2005 and 2006 Tournaments of Champions. They wrote and starred in The Ring Reduced, a half-hour version of Wagner’s Ring Cycle for Channel 4 (UK), and reduced the Edinburgh Festival for BBC and the soap opera Glenroe for RTE Ireland. Shakespeare (abridged) aired on PBS and is available on DVD, as is America (abridged).
For National Public Radio, the RSC has been heard on All Things Considered, Weekend Edition, Talk of the Nation, Day to Day, West Coast Live, and To The Best of Our Knowledge. The BBC World Service commissioned the six-part Reduced Shakespeare Radio Show. The Reduced Shakespeare Company Christmas was heard on Public Radio International.
The RSC won the prestigious Shorty Award in New York City and the Delft Audience Award in Holland. They’ve also been nominated for an Olivier Award in London, two Helen Hayes Awards in Washington, DC, the SF Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Award, and several podcast awards.
RSC scripts are published in the US and UK, and translated into over a dozen languages. The RSC Radio Show, RSC Christmas, and Bible (abridged) are all available on CD or iTunes.
On April 23, 2014 the company set a Guinness World Record™ for the Highest Theatrical Performance at 37,000 feet aboard an EasyJet flight from London to Verona. The RSC also creates unique entertainments for corporate events, working with such companies as Sky-TV, Time Magazine, Motorola, and Rotary International.
Pop-Up Shakespeare (illustrated by Jennie Maizels) was published in 2017 by Candlewick Press in the US and Walker Books in the UK and Australia. Hyperion published their irreverent reference book Reduced Shakespeare: The Complete Guide for the Attention-Impaired (abridged). The company established its own imprint Reduced Books to publish the comic memoir How The Bible Changed Our Lives (Mostly For The Better) in all e-book formats.
And the RSC Podcast, a free 20-minute audio glimpse of life backstage and on the road, is available every week at iTunes, Stitcher, and www.reducedshakespeare.com
Jennie Maizels is the author-illustrator of numerous books for children, including Jennie Maizels' Things to Do Book. She lives in England.
Win 1 of 2 copies of Pop-Up Shakespeare!
Candlewick has generously offered 2 copies for 2 winners.
-US/CAN
-no PO boxes
ends 4/12/19
-winners will be emailed and must claim prize within 48 hours
-Word Spelunking is not responsible for lost, damaged, stolen prizes
What a great way to introduce Shakespeare to kids. Thanks for the chance to win a copy.
ReplyDeleteMy fave Shakespeare is A Midsummer Night's Dream. So many staging possibilities. Thanks again.
ReplyDelete"what's your favorite Shakespeare work?" "As You Like It," because I like the character Jaques.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite is Hamlet.
ReplyDeleteA Midsummer Night's Dream is my favorite, probably because I read it in high school.
ReplyDeleteI've always liked Twelfth Night the most.
ReplyDelete