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Post by Phantom of London on Nov 18, 2019 20:00:01 GMT
What does stand out and is great to see, there is no definite answer, as there is a great array of answers from Hamlet to Winter’s Tale, it certainly presents a broad church of opinion.
Even there is no preference for tragedies, histories or comedies, so has been very illuminating.
Agree with JB and keep them to the plays themselves, maybe we can do productions later, that would be fun.
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Post by peggs on Nov 18, 2019 20:21:22 GMT
It is interesting, I read some people's picks and immediately start questioning my choices, others and I wonder what they have seen that I have missed. Yes lets do productions another time, that would be good.
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Post by Jan on Nov 18, 2019 20:25:58 GMT
As I have noted before, Trevor Nunn’s favourite play is Winters Tale, although his two production of it were apparently not amongst his best work.
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Post by irisjeregenboog on Nov 18, 2019 22:14:23 GMT
I have only read a few of his plays and seen almost nothing live (I only saw As You Like It at the Edinburgh Fringe one time and that was... not a good production). I have seen a couple of filmed performances, movies, and readings, though. I recently started to really like learning about Shakespeare and discovering his plays, because it is all so new to me! I'm not from the UK, so we only did one play in secondary school and that was it. Didn't even mention his others plays. I am trying very hard to amend that now. So, my 3 favourites so far: - Romeo and Juliet: This was the play we analysed in secondary school and I was so excited that we got to do this one! No one else was of course, but I was so into it! Love it! I know too much of this by heart and can frequently be heard muttering beautiful passages under my breath on my way to work/home. People must think I am crazy... - Much Ado About Nothing: When I decided I wanted to educate myself on Shakespeare, I chose this play as a starter and it was hilarious! I took David Tennant's version as a guide to introduce me to the world of Shakespeare and properly watch/read it. I cried with laughter. That's when I realised Shakespeare's comedies could actually be funny and his work is still very relevant today and not at all stuffy and boring as I was (kind of) led to believe in secondary school. - Macbeth: I haven't fully read this yet, but I have read some shortened versions of it. The theme of ambition really speaks to me and it serves as a nice cautionary tale. Next year, I will be living in the UK (finally!) and my goal will be to see some (good!) productions of Shakespeare plays  So, maybe I can make a more educated decision on my top 3 favourite Shakespeare plays by the end of next year |
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Post by NeilVHughes on Nov 19, 2019 0:11:55 GMT
This thread reminds me of the best retort from a fellow boarder.
When I asked if there was a specific term for a Shakespeare completist on achieving this milestone I was told that I can now proudly call myself a ‘Billend’
I’m with Dr Brock on the under appreciated Pericles and almost included it, when done well the brothel scene is one of Shakespeare’s funniest and looking forward to see what the RSC does with it next year and how it compares to the Wanamaker Dromgoole production from a few years ago which is my benchmark.
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Post by Jan on Nov 19, 2019 6:58:11 GMT
I have only read a few of his plays and seen almost nothing live I think another interesting point is that if you compiled a list of the best Shakespeare plays to read then it would be different to the best plays in performance. Winters Tale and (especially) Pericles read quite badly but in performance are nearly always good. King Lear is the reverse. For those without access to many stage productions there are a few good film versions of the plays. I thought the Branagh Hamlet film was very good for example, also McKellen's Ricard III, Orson Welles Chimes at Midnight. |
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Post by David J on Nov 19, 2019 7:56:34 GMT
I have only read a few of his plays and seen almost nothing live (I only saw As You Like It at the Edinburgh Fringe one time and that was... not a good production). I have seen a couple of filmed performances, movies, and readings, though. I recently started to really like learning about Shakespeare and discovering his plays, because it is all so new to me! I'm not from the UK, so we only did one play in secondary school and that was it. Didn't even mention his others plays. I am trying very hard to amend that now. So, my 3 favourites so far: - Romeo and Juliet: This was the play we analysed in secondary school and I was so excited that we got to do this one! No one else was of course, but I was so into it! Love it! I know too much of this by heart and can frequently be heard muttering beautiful passages under my breath on my way to work/home. People must think I am crazy... - Much Ado About Nothing: When I decided I wanted to educate myself on Shakespeare, I chose this play as a starter and it was hilarious! I took David Tennant's version as a guide to introduce me to the world of Shakespeare and properly watch/read it. I cried with laughter. That's when I realised Shakespeare's comedies could actually be funny and his work is still very relevant today and not at all stuffy and boring as I was (kind of) led to believe in secondary school. - Macbeth: I haven't fully read this yet, but I have read some shortened versions of it. The theme of ambition really speaks to me and it serves as a nice cautionary tale. Next year, I will be living in the UK (finally!) and my goal will be to see some (good!) productions of Shakespeare plays So, maybe I can make a more educated decision on my top 3 favourite Shakespeare plays by the end of next year The one thing I recommend you do next year is see Pericles at the RSC, since that’s one of the least performed plays. In fact if you can have a few days in Stratford and watch recordings of previous productions at the birthplace archive. Michael Boyd’s Henry VI trilogy are the three things I’d go and watch. The NT also shows their previous broadcasts at their archive including Twelfth Night, Othello, and Derek Jacobi’s unsurpassable King Lear. Otherwise see Pericles at the cinema as well as Comedy of Errors and Winters Tale. The NT’s Romeo and Juliet should be broadcasted as well. There’s also the RSC DVDs of their broadcasts. Their recent release of the rarely performed Troilus and Cressida I’d recommend. Their BBC film of their African Julius Caesar is also a must see The online Globe Player is also your friend here where you can rent and watch their recorded productions, and they’ve got many of the plays to watch. If there’s two things you should watch it’s the Henry IV plays with Roger Allam giving the best Falstaff in recent years. They also have the Globe to Globe series where all the plays were performed back in 2012 by different companies in the world, all in different languages if you’re up to it As to seeing live performances, the Globe should be announcing their next season soon. If your living in London there should be all sorts of productions performed in the fringe. There will also be regional productions like Coriolanus in Sheffield |
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Post by Jan on Nov 19, 2019 8:29:48 GMT
The one thing I recommend you do next year is see Pericles at the RSC, since that’s one of the least performed plays. In fact if you can have a few days in Stratford and watch recordings of previous productions at the birthplace archive. Michael Boyd’s Henry VI trilogy are the three things I’d go and watch. Based on the performances I have seen Pericles is not that rare, it's in the middle of the list. The rare ones are: Henry VIII Titus Andronicus Two Gentlemen of Verona King John Henry VI I,II,III Timon of Athens Comedy of Errors And for all of those except Henry VIII I have been to productions within the last few years. |
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Post by David J on Nov 19, 2019 12:14:38 GMT
The one thing I recommend you do next year is see Pericles at the RSC, since that’s one of the least performed plays. In fact if you can have a few days in Stratford and watch recordings of previous productions at the birthplace archive. Michael Boyd’s Henry VI trilogy are the three things I’d go and watch. Based on the performances I have seen Pericles is not that rare, it's in the middle of the list. The rare ones are: Henry VIII Titus Andronicus Two Gentlemen of Verona King John Henry VI I,II,III Timon of Athens Comedy of Errors And for all of those except Henry VIII I have been to productions within the last few years. I suppose I should say the most Shakespeare I have seen was at the leading theatres like the RSC, Globe and NT. Looking at my spreadsheet (yes I have one), the plays I have looked elsewhere to see are King Lear and Richard III And since 2007 I have seen more Comedy of Errors (the 2007 Nancy Meckler revival tour, 2012 RSC, 2012 NT Dominic Cooke, 2014 Globe Blanche McIntyre, 2016 Antic Disposition) than Pericles (2015 Sam Wanamaker, 2019 Globe Tour). I missed the NT's community Pericles last year. So you could say you would have to look further afield to other companies or the fringe to see a production of Pericles |
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Post by David J on Nov 19, 2019 12:45:57 GMT
As for the other rarities here’s my recommendations if you hard pressed to find a production
Henry VIII: the globe production on their player is a good
Titus Andronicus: again recommend the one on the globe player
Two gentlemen of Verona: get the rsc DVD
Timon of Athens: the broadcast of the rsc production is tomorrow and hopefully there will be a dvd, otherwise go and see the 2012 nt broadcast at the archive
Henry VI: the touring globe production is on the globe player. I’d recommend watching the Michael Boyd version at the rsc archive
King John: see one at the rsc archive. Perhaps the Maria Aberg one for something ‘different’
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Post by learfan on Nov 19, 2019 12:56:49 GMT
I have only read a few of his plays and seen almost nothing live I think another interesting point is that if you compiled a list of the best Shakespeare plays to read then it would be different to the best plays in performance. Winters Tale and (especially) Pericles read quite badly but in performance are nearly always good. King Lear is the reverse. For those without access to many stage productions there are a few good film versions of the plays. I thought the Branagh Hamlet film was very good for example, also McKellen's Ricard III, Orson Welles Chimes at Midnight. Disagree about Lear, but agree about Chimes at Midnight, for me comfortably the best film of a Shakespeare play (or in this case plays). |
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Post by irisjeregenboog on Nov 19, 2019 15:23:26 GMT
Next year, I will be living in the UK (finally!) and my goal will be to see some (good!) productions of Shakespeare plays So, maybe I can make a more educated decision on my top 3 favourite Shakespeare plays by the end of next year As to seeing live performances, the Globe should be announcing their next season soon. If your living in London there should be all sorts of productions performed in the fringe. There will also be regional productions like Coriolanus in Sheffield Thanks for the tips! Not sure if I'll be able to go to Stratford-Upon-Avon next year (although I would love to!), but regional productions should be completely doable. I will be living in Leeds, so I'd definitely be able to go to any productions in Sheffield. The Coriolanus production seems very cool, so I'll keep a mental note that I should book a ticket for that |
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Post by nick on Nov 19, 2019 16:10:27 GMT
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Post by learfan on Nov 19, 2019 18:41:04 GMT
Yes its updated monthly and is very good for keeping tabs both on Shakespeare and non Shakespeare renaissance productions. |
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Post by lynette on Nov 19, 2019 19:09:41 GMT
As for the other rarities here’s my recommendations if you hard pressed to find a production Henry VIII: the globe production on their player is a good Titus Andronicus: again recommend the one on the globe player Two gentlemen of Verona: get the rsc DVD Timon of Athens: the broadcast of the rsc production is tomorrow and hopefully there will be a dvd, otherwise go and see the 2012 nt broadcast at the archive Henry VI: the touring globe production is on the globe player. I’d recommend watching the Michael Boyd version at the rsc archive King John: see one at the rsc archive. Perhaps the Maria Aberg one for something ‘different’ I'm watching youooo David J - recommending the Aberg....aaaargh |
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Post by lynette on Nov 19, 2019 19:11:32 GMT
Surely the rarest to be performed are the Henry VI s
I’ve only seen two history 'seasons' of them all and then one odd one years ago and that is in a long, long time.
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Post by Phantom of London on Nov 19, 2019 19:39:11 GMT
The thing with Henry VI trilogy is and I haven’t seen it, it doesn’t have great quotes or a great monologue as the other history plays have.
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Post by Fleance on Nov 19, 2019 19:54:35 GMT
The thing with Henry VI trilogy is and I haven’t seen it, it doesn’t have great quotes or a great monologue as the other history plays have. When I was in college, I had a course in Gothic literature and read Maturin's Melmoth the Wanderer. At the head of Chapter 1 is a quote from Shakespeare: "Alive again? Then show me where he is: I'll give a thousand pounds to look upon him." In the context of Melmoth, I found that to be a haunting quote and wanted to know what play it came from, but that was before the Internet, and the quote isn't famous enough to be in Bartlett. It wasn't until I saw the Henry VI plays at the Barbican in 1989 that I learned it was from Henry VI Part II, uttered by a delirious Cardinal Beaufort about Duke Humphrey. I think it's a great line. Another passage from the Henry VI plays worth noting is the "Edward the Third, my Lord, had seven sons..." monologue. I think there are many great lines/set pieces in those plays. |
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Post by Jan on Nov 19, 2019 20:14:45 GMT
Surely the rarest to be performed are the Henry VI s I’ve only seen two history 'seasons' of them all and then one odd one years ago and that is in a long, long time. I’ve seen the Henry VI plays four times, more than Henry VIII. But only the Michael Boyd version was the three separate plays, the others were compressed into two (Michael Bogdanov/ESC, Adrian Noble/Plantagenets, Trevor Nunn/Wars of the Roses at Kingston). I did not see the original Peter Hall Wars of the Roses, or the Terry Hands/Alan Howard cycle. Katie Mitchell did one of the plays for the RSC, Part 2 ?, when she was invited to choose any Shakespeare play she wanted to direct. Typical. |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 19, 2019 21:17:34 GMT
My biggest issue with Shakespeare is that for his genius, he hadn’t a clue how to end a play. Almost everything I’ve seen ends a good 15 to 20 minutes before the script does.
Generally speaking I think Romeo and Juliet is the most accessible, timeless and concise. There’s plenty of up and downs along the way that keeps the story moving so the pacing is pretty good. I like how your relationship with it can evolve too, from identifying with the thrill of that first all encompassing love, to eventually knowing that life would be infinitely better if it wasn’t for the bloody in-laws.
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Post by learfan on Nov 19, 2019 22:16:29 GMT
Surely the rarest to be performed are the Henry VI s I’ve only seen two history 'seasons' of them all and then one odd one years ago and that is in a long, long time. I’ve seen the Henry VI plays four times, more than Henry VIII. But only the Michael Boyd version was the three separate plays, the others were compressed into two (Michael Bogdanov/ESC, Adrian Noble/Plantagenets, Trevor Nunn/Wars of the Roses at Kingston). I did not see the original Peter Hall Wars of the Roses, or the Terry Hands/Alan Howard cycle. Katie Mitchell did one of the plays for the RSC, Part 2 ?, when she was invited to choose any Shakespeare play she wanted to direct. Typical. Seen them each three times. So when the RSC does them soon that will be four all. |
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Post by theatremad on Nov 20, 2019 8:06:43 GMT
Katie Mitchell's was Henry VI Part 3 retitled Henry VI: Battle for the Throne.
Was my introduction to those plays and had me hooked.
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Post by lynette on Nov 20, 2019 20:45:29 GMT
Katie Mitchell's was Henry VI Part 3 retitled Henry VI: Battle for the Throne. Was my introduction to those plays and had me hooked. This is the odd one I was trying to remember who did it. It was excellent, that I do remember. |
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Post by joem on Nov 21, 2019 14:07:21 GMT
Surely the rarest to be performed are the Henry VI s I’ve only seen two history 'seasons' of them all and then one odd one years ago and that is in a long, long time. There was also the "Rose Rage" adaptation by Edward Hall. I'd say the rarest are: Timon of Athens Henry VIII The Two Noble Kinsmen The Comedy of Errors Troilus and Cressida |
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Post by oxfordsimon on Nov 21, 2019 18:33:31 GMT
Comedy of Errors is hardly rare.
Frequent RSC productions. Recent RNT productions. Globe had toured it at least twice.
It isn't a Dream or Twelfth Night. But it is in the next tranche down. At least in my experience
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So, maybe I can make a more educated decision on my top 3 favourite Shakespeare plays by the end of next year 
