It must rank as one of the most unlikely artistic collaborations of all time. The creative trio behind the cult comic Viz are in talks with the Royal Shakespeare Company about joining forces with the aim of bringing the Bard to a wider audience.

Newcastle-based Viz has spawned a cast of comic characters, including The Fat Slags and Sid the Sexist, which parodies the behaviour of an unreconstructed, heavy-drinking northerner.

Although purists are likely to ridicule the liaison, the RSC insists it has artistic merit. Shakespeare may be one of the world's most treasured cultural icons, but his works are littered with colourful characters from the 'lower orders' and laced with lewd phrases, sexual innuendo and biting social satire. The collaboration has been prompted by the RSC's efforts to demonstrate Shakespeare's relevance to the modern world and publicise its season of Shakespeare comedies.

It approached Viz co-editor Graham Dury earlier this year and he has visited the theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon several times to meet cast and crew.

Theatregoers are likely to be spared the spectacle of Sid the Sexist treading the boards in Elizabethan ruffles, however. The Viz cartoonists are being drafted in to sketch the backstage staff at the RSC, including makeup artists, stage hands and grips. The illustrations will be incorporated into the sets of several Shakespeare comedies and the RSC is hoping Dury and his partners, Simon Thorp and Davey Jones, will take part in a series of workshops open to the public.

Thorp said: 'We don't know anything about Shakespeare - Graham is a botanist and I studied physics. But some of Shakespeare's jokes are a bit dated and people say Viz's are as well, so it seemed like a good match.'

The RSC's season of Shakespeare comedies will run at Stratford-upon-Avon until October and transfer to London for a 16-week run at the end of the year.