Meridian Little Theatre takes on the Bard of Avon in the raucous, three-person comedy “The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) [revised] (again),” beginning Thursday night and running through Sunday.

Shakespeare has never been so funny, smart or short as the cast of Brayden Alford, Clint Brown and Caleb Thaggard take on all 37 of his works in 97 minutes.

“This is an incredibly funny show that you do not have to be a Shakespeare scholar to enjoy,” said Artistic Director Tiffany McGehee. “This brief overview of Shakespeare’s works is just enough to encourage a healthy curiosity about The Bard.”

Written by Adam Long, Daniel Singer and Jess Winfield with new revisions by Singer and Winfield, the play features three madcap men in tights that weave their wicked way through Shakespeare’s comedies, histories and tragedies in one wild ride that will leave the audience breathless and helpless with laughter, according to its description.

The play starts with an eccentric version of “Romeo and Juliet,” followed by a parody of “Titus Andronicus” portrayed as a cooking show. Next is “Othello,” which is done as a rap song, the infamous “Othello Rap.” The members of the trio then compete in a hilarious football game that summarizes Shakespeare’s histories, including “King John,” “Richard II,” “Richard III, “Henry IV,” etc., complete with commentary and details of each character’s rise and fall from power.

Coming toward the end of the first act, the performers realize they forgot to perform “Hamlet,” which leads to a zany scene of one of the actors nervously running out of the theater as he is being chased by another. The final actor is left to entertain the audience by himself, which he does by telling jokes and calling for an intermission.

The two missing actors return after intermission to successfully save their companion from reciting all of Shakespeare’s sonnets. All three actors then perform their very abbreviated version of Hamlet, with a little help from the audience, thus completing Shakespeare’s canon in about an hour and a half.

Clint Brown, who works at Mitchell Signs, is no stranger to the MLT stage with 15 shows under his belt. Most recently, Brown portrayed Herr Schultz in “Cabaret.”

“I’ve done this show, in 2010 with another group, and it’s one of the funniest plays ever written,” Brown said. “It’s fun as an actor to get to take on so many roles at such a quick pace and make the audience laugh. Everybody knows a little Shakespeare, whether they realize it or not. All three of the actors in the show essentially play exaggerated versions of ourselves trying to make our way through all of Shakespeare in one evening.”

Brown said most people might hear the title and expect a traditional dry theater experience. However, the show is anything but that, he said.

“There’s slapstick comedy, plenty of jokes and gags, and even a little bit of audience participation that’s sure to keep everyone laughing and enjoying the experience,” Brown said.

Another MLT veteran, Caleb Thaggard, has been performing in plays since he was 12 years old. His day job is a college and career facilitator at Hattiesburg High School.

“The script is challenging, which can be expected when performing Shakespeare, but because we are literally trying to condense Shakespeare’s entire portfolio into just under two hours, the challenge is especially unique,” Thaggard said. “Not only are we trying to condense it, but we are also trying to make it accessible to a wide audience.

“Though brilliant, Shakespeare can be a bit dense and hard to get through. This show makes Shakespeare’s works more palatable using humor of which there is plenty,” he said.

“The show’s genius is that none of the main plots of Shakespeare’s plays are left out, and my co-stars are incredible,” Thaggard said. “It is equal effort.”

Finishing out the trio is Brayden Alford, a senior at West Lauderdale High School and a National Merit Finalist. Alford will be attending Mississippi State University in the fall to major in chemical engineering.

“The Complete Works of William Shakespeare” marks Alford’s 15th stage production, but is his first non-musical performance.

“It’s a very different kind of show when there is no music, but I love the challenge of keeping up with (Brown) and (Thaggard) who are very experienced actors,” he said. “I play several roles in this production, but my favorites are Benvolio, Juliet, Tybalt, Ophelia, Claudius, Old Hamlet and Gertrude.”

McGehee said anyone who likes Shakespeare will like the production and anyone who hates Shakespeare will “love the show.”

“The writers of this show describe it as a high-speed roller-coaster type of condensation of all of Shakespeare’s plays and is not recommended for people with heart ailments, bladder problems, inner-ear disorders, outer-ear disorders, Shakespearean scholars, those with degrees in Elizabethan history, or people inclined to motion sickness,” McGehee said, jokingly. “MLT cannot be held responsible for expectant mothers.”

Show times at Meridian Little Theatre for “The Complete Works of William Shakespeare” are 7 p.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday and a matinee at 2 p.m. on Sunday.

Tickets may be purchased at meridianlittletheatre.com or by calling the box office at 601-482-6371.