is the co-artistic director of the Reduced Shakespeare Company; a writing and acting coach at The Shakespeareance; the co-author of ten stage comedies, including William Shakespeare’s Long Lost First Play (abridged) and The Comedy of Hamlet! (a prequel); the co-creator of the illustrated children’s books Pop-Up Shakespeare and Daisy, the Littlest Zombie; a contributor to Shakespeare Bulletin, The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Global Shakespeare, and Shakespearean Biofiction on the Contemporary Stage and Screen (from Arden Shakespeare); and the host of the world’s longest-running theater podcast, the Reduced Shakespeare Company Podcast. Austin and his RSC partner Reed Martin received the 2025 Sandra & Sidney Berger Award from the international Shakespeare Theatre Association, presented annually to Artistic Directors in recognition of their outstanding talent and dedication to the works of William Shakespeare.
The tricks of this pop-up Shakespeare book, written by the Reduced Shakespeare Company and illustrated by Jennie Maizels, are a perfect way to express the theatricality of Shakespeare’s plays.
