DON'T expect too much authenticity, nor indeed all that many humongous speeches, with a performance of Shakespeare's "Long Lost First Play" (abridged) at The Swan Theatre in Worcester.

But it's a brand new show from the Reduced Shakespeare Company, and it's a glance at the chief icon of our literary culture, "as seen through the eyes of three Americans wearing trainers".

A spokesman said: "Following a world premiere season at the Edinburgh Festival and a run at the renowned Folger Shakespeare Library, the acclaimed stars of the West End stage, the Reduced Shakespeare Company are back with another barnstormingly irreverent and breathtakingly hilarious celebration of our cultural heritage.

"In a better-late-than-never nod to Will’s 400th anniversary, the bad boys of abridgement present this ‘new’ play by the man himself, as discovered in a Leicester car park."

Presumably, the manuscript was lying next to the bones of Richard III's favourite horse.

The spokesman added: "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 in the West End, off-Broadway, at the White House, the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, 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."

A spokesperson from the Swan Theatre added: “We’re delighted that the ‘other’ RSC is returning to the Swan with this brand new show. It promises to be a hilarious night of joyous entertainment for Shakespeare lovers and non-Shakespeare lovers alike.”

The play's the thing, or not, on Thursday, May 18 from 7.30pm.

Tickets on 01905 611427.