Who here is into Shakespeare? Have you got a favourite Shakespeare play?
Who here is into Shakespeare? Have you got a favourite Shakespeare play?
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Who here is into Shakespeare? Have you got a favourite Shakespeare play?
King Lear
I watched Glenda Jackson play King Lear about two years ago
@Jason I saw James Bolam as King Lear many years ago at the Young Vic. The whole production was totally gripping.
I read Macbeth for ‘O’ level. Studied in depth so always enjoyed it.
Hamlet, I studied it in school and in college so it’s probably because I know it well.
When did you last watch Hamlet?
Not since I saw it in the theatre when I was in college, a long time ago! But I’ve read it since. .
I just went to the pop up globe in Sydney tonight and watched Merchant in Venice. I’ve only ‘read’ one Shakespeare and that was at school. Macbeth. Still remember it a little though.
What’s your favourite?
Othello
Lear without a doubt. I went to see the Timothy West version with my mum it was fantastic! X
I went to watch that in Bristol
Hamlet!
Macbeth for the language and Much Ado about Nothing for the characters – but I’ve seen several brilliant productions of A Midsummer Night’s Dream over the years and I think that may be the one that lends itself to experiments with staging.
Othello is my favourite
Anthony and Cleopatra.
I recently watched this with Ralph Fiennes playing Antony
Can’t decide.
Troilus and Cressida is fab and I have a soft spot for Twelfth Night.
Love twelfth night and hamlet
I’ve never seen T&C before. I will be going to watch it at the RSC for the first time on Nov 10th
Oh you will love it!
Othello
Ah, the Irish play!
“Macbeth”! Wonderful play and works so well with the teenagers I teach. It is truly timeless. ?
Romeo and Juliet. I saw it performed by the RSC at the Barbican in London when I was a teenager and I fell in love with it. Captain Darling from Blackadder played Mercutio and he was fabulous! 🙂
Midsummer Nights Dream.
I’m not really into Shakespeare, but I read The Merchant of Venice and really enjoyed it…
I read Romeo and Juliet at school and loved it. Thankfully I grew up in Shakespeare’s county so did get to the RSC quite a bit. Saw many brilliant actors in Twelfth Night and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. But I think that the crowning glory was seeing Romeo and Juliet at the Swan, front row seats, epic stage fights, and there was a new and upcoming actor playing Romeo. It was Mark Rylance!
The Taming of the Shrew
Not big into Shakepeare, did though do a version of ‘The Two Gentleman of Verona’ a few years ago with a group of kids from a Leeds Sink estate and it was called ‘The two lads of Leeds’ full houses for all three sittings.
Hamlet
The current production of Midsummer night’s dream at Sheffield’s crucible theatre is magnificent. A lot of specially composed music and Shakespeare for the 21st century while still respecting the original. See it if you wonder whether you might like Shakespeare. You’ll like this.
There was a terrific production of it in York over the summer in a Shakespearean style theatre they put up just by Clifford’s Tower. I think it makes all the difference when you see the plays done really well.
Hamlet. Over and over again.
Henry 5th
I’m watching this in a few weeks time
I am a Shakespeare, does that count?
Yep, you qualify.
Hamlet, methinks. I still have my school textbook.
Macbeth
As with Dickens, it was forced on me at school so I hate it
We did A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Great Expectations at school which made me hate them for so long! I have been thinking of giving them another ago now, 25 years on lol.
My schooldays ended over 60 years ago!!
Love Othello
I recently went to watch it at the Globe, London. Mark Rylance played Iago. He was great
Midsummers nights dream
I loved it. Used to live near Stratford and saw all the plays
Coriolanus. A blood thirsty Roman play of true brillance. I saw the RSC perform this a few years ago, it was superb.
Was that the production with Timothy West & Janet Suzman?
No just the touring RSC, can’t recall who was the main character but I did see Timothy’s son Sam play Hamlet in Stratford upon Avon and he was incredible.
If I had to choose a favourite, it’s Twelfth Night, but I do like Coriolanus
Macbeth
I recently went to see Christopher Eccleston play Macbeth. He was awful
@Jason I’m distantly related to king Duncan, also it’s a fab play I used to hate Shakespeare but developed a liking for him when I had to teach it
Aha – according to some dodgy family trees on http://ancestry.com/ I am also related to Duncan!
Macbeth is my favourite too. I used to be able to quote chunks of it by heart. I also love King Lear, Anthony and Cleopatra and Twelfth Night.
What was the last WS play that you watched?
@Jason I saw King Lear on TV (mixed feelings) and a great Twelfth Night at the Theatre Royal in Brighton
Was that the one with Anthony Hopkins?
@Jason yes. I found him a bit shouty…
Nobody has mentioned TitusAndronicus.
You just did?
Good but heavy going
@Jason I saw it performed for the first time last year. It was amazing. The best show I saw last year.
No .. many an afternoon spent trying not to fall asleep in English class knocked any enjoyment out of me …
Impossible to choose one as favourite, at least among the great tragedies. Among the comedies, I’m partial to The Merchant of Venice, the first Shakespeare play I ever read (and studied), and Much Ado about Nothing.
Ooh, I do like Much Ado…
I love Beatrice.
Othello
Same as @Grace for me- I wasn’t overly enamoured with ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ & haven’t bothered with any of his other works ?
Ah, @Dan .. that was the first one we did too .. followed by MacBeth ?
Love him. King Lear best ever play. Ever.
Did you ever see Derek Jacobi play Lear?
@Jason yes, very good.
Much ado about nothing
Hamlet for tragedy and The Comedy of Errors, for comedy. I was fortunate enough to play Luciana in TCOE in a little outdoor summer tour a few years ago.
‘Even in the springs of love, thy love-springs rot? Shall love, in building, grow so ruinous?’ That’s nearly all I remember now.
Oh, I played Luciana in a school production! I was also studying it for A-level at the time and knew nearly the whole play by heart – handy for quotes in the exams.
Definitely handy, and lots of fun too I guess. ?
Mostly gone now, sadly!
Othello
Othello for the characters, Merchant of Venice for the twisty turny, Macbeth for the blood and gore ??
The Winter’s Tale.
The tempest
Far too many to choose from, but my favourite character is Enobarbus in Antony & Cleopatra. Wish I’d written him.
Much Ado About Nothing
Hamlet a close second!
Loved Maxine Peake as Hamlet in Manchester and David Morrissey as Macbeth in Liverpool. Antony Sher was a great Henry IV at RSC.
I remember watching AS play Iago at the RSC
Macbeth Try Jo Nesbo’s . Macbeth crime and Shakespeare combined.
I’ve got a signed edition of Nesbo’s Macbeth. It has red edged pages
Love a midsummer night’s dream.
Much ado is good too.
The Globe’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream with John Light and Matthew Tennyson is EXCELLENT!
The Tempest & midsummers night dream
I saw Midsummer Night’s Dream at Stratford years ago and it was hilarious.
Macbeth! Going to see the NT production next week ???
Macbeth and Midsummer Nights Dream
Hamlet, Othello and Much Ado. Pretty much all of them, apart from Winters Tale and not a huge fan of King Lear.
What don’t you like about Lear?
@Jason Its difficult to pinpoint. I find the language too dense, I don’t like Winters Tale for the same reason.
No
Among the comedies, Taming of the Shrew. History plays, Richard III. Dramas, tough to choose among Othello, King Lear, and Merchant of Venice.
Macbeth
It would have to be Macbeth for me !
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
My granddaughter is name after a character in Hamlet does that count. Ophelia
A patron at the RSC. Saw Troilus and Cressida last night. I think The Tempest is my favourite.
I’m watching T&C on Nov 10th
@Jason this one?
I watched that production of Titus. David Troughton was excellent
@Jason he was also excellent in the recent production of Merry Wives. I take it you share a passion for Shakespeare too?
I sure do
Off to see The Tragedy of Richard lll in Jan. Simon Russell Beale is in the lead role
Recently watched Antony & Cleopatra with Ralph Fiennes
@Jason we saw his Tempest, for me in that production Ariel stole the show.
@Jason I saw him in the early 90s in Loves Labours, you’ll be in for a treat. Where is that playing?
Almeida, Islington
Much ado about nothing…
No, I’m not a Shakespeare fan at all.
What don’t you like about Shakespeare?
A Midsummer Night’s Dream – so much that I’ve written a romcom screenplay about a theatre in rural Nebraska staging it… And Macbeth. Saw a fantastic production of it years ago with a completely bare, black set and unknown actors and it was AMAZING!
Henry the Fourth part one and two. I love Sir John Falstaff my favourite Shakespeare character.
My English teacher killed part one for me at o’level. I did like Hotspur though…
Oh and in my compare and contrast essay for the exam, I described Falstaff as an overweight egotistical drunkard!
Merry wives is a great showcase for him ?
Hamlet.
I love to watch @Shakey
Henry iv part 1. O level English 1970. Loved falstaff and hotspur.
Taming of the shrew. Apart from that better seen than read.
Macbeth
As You Like It.
Midsummer!
Always Twelfth Night.
Always Twelfth Night.
Merchant of Venice. I saw Laurence Olivier playing Shylock at the Edinburgh Festival many years ago. Amazing.
Many years ago i got to see Patrick Stewart playing Shylock
Here are some of my favourite shows
Anthony Sher playing Iago(RSC)
Derek Jacobi playing King Lear(Donmar)
Patrick Stewart playing Shylock(RSC)
Simon Russell Beale playing Timon(NT)
@Jason Andrew Scott as Hamlet was very good.
I had forgotten about this production
Romeo & Juliet. I’ve even written my own version of it, with a few new twists and a whole new outcome.
I loved your version @Sue.
Thank you, Paula!
My favourite is Richard II, probably because it was taught so beautifully by my A-level English teacher, and then we got to see Fiona Shaw playing the title role at the National Theatre. What a school trip that was!
Totally.
I love Shakespeare, saw Macbeth at the barbican last week
Was that the RSC production?
Yes with Christopher eccleston
What did you think of it?
Very good
There are several plays that I love – but productions can differ so much there is no guarantee of a good theatre going experience.
Which ones do you love?
My favourite is Othello.
The Tempest, Taming of the Shrew, Merchant of Venice, Hamlet, Much Ado, Othello and King Lear
Glenda Jackson was very good as Lear
Didn’t see that one Jason
It was at the Old Vic. Maybe 2015 or 2016
I loved Mel Gibson’s Hamlet, but didn’t like Branagh’s version ( film wise that is)
Saw a brilliant version of Taming at a local theatre many years ago, took my reluctant son and he came out a total convert!
King Lear, has it all. That bloke could write a line or two…
Love the Bard, not really into the comedy stuff (although I’ve acted in a few of them) But for me I love King Lear, Macbeth, and I’m quite partial to a bit of Titus too. – anyone notice a pattern here? lol
Titus was the first ever Shakespeare play that i watched. Corin Redgrave played Titus
I studied Shakespeare for my A Levels. I have the complete works and still love to pick them up now and again. My favourite is probably The Merchant of Venice – well, today it is 🙂
When did you last go to the theatre to watch a WS play?
It’s been a good number of years. Mainly, I’ve been to the ballet in more recent years, because my daughter loves the ballet. Ludlow Castle put on open air productions each year, but for some reason, I just haven’t made the effort to go in the last few years. I must do it again – and I hear Stratford calling.
The new RSC booking period has just opened 😉
Ah yes, I’ve seen a number of different versions of Taming of the Shrew, but As You Like It may be the choice to go with.
The Tempest, and I won’t brook any dissent on this
I know I should know more Shakespeare, having studied him so much at school, to A Level, but I rarely watch any of his plays now – perhaps because the whole weight of all the critics and all the background and allusions that everybody else will know (but I won’t) bears down on me and makes me feel quite inadequate to simply, plainly, enjoy a play.
Midsummer night’s dream. Though I saw a fantastic production of As You Like it by @The earlier this year.
Macbeth 🙂
I like his early stuff but he’s dropped off a lot recently.
Very true.