Nicknamed the “bad boys of abridgment,” the men behind the Reduced Shakespeare Company (RSC), a theater troupe that performs short, witty synopses of broader subjects, are coming to Edison Theatre this Friday to perform “The Complete History of Comedy (abridged).”

Beginning in 1981, the founding members of RSC, Daniel Singer, Jess Winfield and Adam Long, performed summaries of “Hamlet” and “Romeo and Juliet” at Renaissance fairs in the summers in Los Angeles and San Francisco. The idea for funny, short and easy-to-understand versions of Shakespeare’s classics came from their need to hold peoples’ interest as they strolled by at these festivals. By 1987, the company had established a one-hour version of “The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged),” which they performed at the Edinburgh Film Festival. In the name of short summaries, the rest is history.

RSC has found a clear niche in appealing to the masses of people who want to be informed about a wide range of topics, from the contents of the great works of Shakespeare to the history of Hollywood, but do not have time to engage in extensive research of their own. The company’s works, while humorous and quick, refer to accurate information about key people and events, presenting history to the audience in one neat package.

RSC has toured throughout the country and around the world with works ranging in content from “The Complete History of America (abridged)” to “The Bible: The Complete Word of God (abridged)” to “The Complete Millennium Musical (abridged),” translated in over a dozen languages.

“The Complete History of Comedy (abridged)” premiered at the Cincinnati Playhouse in 2013 as the company’s ninth stage show. It is a clever exploration of what makes people laugh and how this has changed over the years, in political, social and theatrical contexts. From cavemen making knock-knock (or “rock rock”) jokes to the true reasoning behind why the chicken crossed the road to the unexpected comedic value of presidential speeches, RSC tackles the evolution of humor in just 90 minutes.

Described as “exhaustingly hilarious” by the Cincinnati Enquirer, the show promises non-stop laughter, which only makes sense because, after all, comedy is the whole point of it. You won’t want to miss this hugely popular company on its rare stop in town.

The company began touring this most recent show in January in the U.K. and Ireland. Its performance in Edison Theatre, on Friday, Nov. 14 at 8 p.m., kicks off the U.S. leg of the tour. Tickets range in price from $20 to $36.