Sheffield-based theatre ensemble Forced Entertainment’s Complete Works: Table Top Shakespeare dispenses entirely with Shakespeare’s text.

Instead, six actors take turns telling the story of all 36 of Shakespeare’s plays in their own words (they’re not doing Henry VIII, whose authorship is disputed) while seated at a table, using small household items – ranging from condiments to cleaning products – to represent the characters.

There is a single lighting state (a general wash) and no music or sound effects, except for some ambient house music between the shows – which I could have done without. Each play takes between 45 and 75 minutes, and they are being performed in a week-long marathon season at the Adelaide Festival, in a curtained-off section of the Space Theatre at the Festival Centre for audiences of about 100. I saw six plays in one day, and each one lasted about an hour.

Forced Entertainment’s Table Top Shakespeare. Photo © Hugh Glendinning

It’s an interesting experiment, as some would argue that it’s the language above all that elevates Shakespeare above his contemporaries (if not every other writer before or...