In 1987, a man in England named Adrian Hilton set a Guiness World Record for working non-stop, five days without sleep, to recite the “Complete Works of Wm. Shakespeare.”

This week, Freeport Players will tackle a far shorter version,  “Complete Works of Wm. Shakespeare (Abridged)” in less than two hours, in performances at Freeport Performing Arts Center. The local community theater actors will do much shorter presentations of Shakespeare’s 37 plays and 154 sonnets. A special “pay what you want” preview of the production is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 15. The show runs weekends through Oct. 2.

Elizabeth Guffey, managing/artistic director for Freeport Players, is directing the play. Guffey said that the show will, indeed, “in one way or the other,” touch upon all of Shakespeare’s works.

“It is very, very abridged and driven down,” Guffey said. “It’s very comedic. We are going to hit them all. It will be under two hours, including an intermission.”

The play, written by Adam Long, Daniel Singer and Jess Winfield, parodies the plays of Shakespeare with all of them being performed by only three actors.

“They started with a short version of ‘Hamlet,’” Guffey said. “They have glommed all the comedies into one piece. We’ll spend about five seconds on ‘Othello.’”

Guffey recalled one of her first encounters with a Shakespeare production.

“It was a school trip to the Theatre at Monmouth for a production of ‘The Complete Works of Wm. Shakespeare (Abridged),'” she said. “At that point I might have read ‘Romeo & Juliet’ for an English class, and perhaps had heard about ‘Hamlet,’ but most of what I saw in ‘Complete Works’ was new to me. Still it made me laugh, and it made me curious about the original plays. I have seen many of Shakespeare’s plays performed on stage and in film since then. I’ve even performed in a couple, and that early comedic introduction let me approach the work fearlessly and without taking it so seriously I couldn’t enjoy it.”

The local staging of “The Complete Works of Wm. Shakespeare (Abridged)” coincides with the 600th anniversary of the great English bard’s death. Christopher Hoffman of Freeport, Julia Langham and Keith Anctil are playing lead roles. Hoffman last appeared with Freeport Players in “Side Man,” seven years ago. Anctil directed the recent female version of “The Odd Couple,” and has appeared on stage with them a couple of times. Langham has been in many Freeport Players shows, starting with “Sylvia” in 2003. All three, Guffey said, have experience with Shakespeare’s work in more serious contexts, including training with Acorn Productions’ Naked Shakespeare ensemble.

In Shakespeare’s day, women were not allowed on the stage. In that spirit, Hoffman will play several female roles, though Langham’s presence does bring the play up to date.

Maryellen Carew, a longtime Freeport Players member who produces posters and programs and works backstage, already has seen this abridged version during the summer, when her son, Connor Carter, played roles at The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey.

“It’s the same play,” Carew said. “What I would say about this particular play and this particular script is every theater group puts their own spin and mark on it. It can be updated to make it more relevant to the audience, and current culture.”

Princes in the play, for example, were purple in honor of the late pop musician Prince.

Carew said that “The Complete Works” is a fast and farcical look at Shakespeare’s works.

”It’s great that this is what Shakespeare would have done and it’s very funny for that reason. It’s a very funny play, from minute 1. It just keeps going.”

Meanwhile, Carew said, Langham’s presence on stage “stands Shakespeare on his head.”

Freeport Players is making it easier for high school students to attend the production, offering $5 tickets to tbem, good only at the door. There will be a talkback session with the cast after the performance on Friday, Sept. 23. Guffey said that the session “will be a great opportunity for students – and everyone – to hear from the cast what it is like to be in this fast-paced show and get some insight into how the comic treatments of the plays really do connect with the essence of those classic works even when they deviate substantially from the original script.”

The concession booth will feature locally made treats from Wicked Whoopies, Maine Vintage Kitchens, Spun Bakery and Coffee By Design.

A closer look

Freeport Players will present “The Complete Works of Wm Shakespeare (Abridged),” Sept. 16-Oct. 2, at Freeport Performing Arts Center. A preview is Thursday, Sept. 15, at 7:30 p.m. Shows are Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. Tickets are $10 in advance and $15 at the door; $5 for high school students at the door. For more information, call 865-2220 or see www.fcponline.org.

The Freeport Players rehearse for the upcoming production of “The Complete Works of Wm. Shakespeare. From left are Christopher Hoffmann, Keith Anctil and Julia Langham.