The company's new show, The Bible: The Complete Word of God (abridged), is currently on a major tour of the UK playing a whole variety of theatre venues.
Peter Dixon, of Funny Way To Be Comedy Club, said: “The idea to bring the Reduced Shakespeare Company to Barnard Castle came about when I interviewed the cast for Radio Teesdale.
“But without The Witham theatre space that would have been impossible, so we joined forces with the Witham team so we could bring this top company to Barnard Castle.
“I've seen them several times at festivals and they have always been a massive hit with the audiences.
“This particular show, simply because it tackles the Bible in a comedic way, has cause controversy in some quarters, but it's more a celebration of the good book than poking fun at people’s beliefs. We know that at least one church group in Teesdale is hoping to bring along 30 of their congregation on a coach!”
Ahead of the show in Barnard Castle, Gary Fannin from the cast said, “There's something nice about a British audience, looking at three seemingly not very bright Americans tackling these huge subjects. We love the audiences up north. The show has a lot of roots in improvised theatre and street theatre, although it is scripted, it has that feel like we're sort of making it up on the spot. We celebrate the Bible, we're celebrating the stories. We are in no way putting it down or saying that it's bad in any way.”
Since 1981, The Reduced Shakespeare Company have created eight stage shows, two television specials, several TV pilots and numerous radio pieces.
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) enjoyed a nine-year run in London’s West End.
Tickets for The Bible: The Complete Word of God (abridged) are on sale now from funnywaytobe.com or at The Witham Box Office priced £15.