Shakespeare Plays

[Maydup]

Do you love them or loathe them?

[sandyRoe]

King Lear, I like.

[Maydup]

I want to enjoy them but I struggle to concentrate and lose the thread.

[rockyracoon]

I don't understand them, they just whoosh straight over the top of my head.

[daffy654]

Hate them.

[NOX]

I love them. If they are produced with thought, flair and ingenuity, there's nothing better. Bad Shakespeare is painful though ;(

[ethandron]

You need to see a production set in modern times. Even though the words are the same it makes it all far easier to understand and holds your interest too.

[sandyRoe]

I think it might help if you read the text before seeing a production.

[Sqad]

They are in another language....one that i have never understood.

Sorry, just can't get on his wavelength.

[NOX]

Good starting point is actually Baz Luhrman's (Leonardo di Caprio takes the lead) Romeo and Juliet- I really liked that and it's the one I usually start kids off watching because it's so easy to follow. Should be available to be streamed from more or less anywhere too, so very available.

[Maydup]

I can't manage the scripts either but I do have a synopsis book which I have read. I try to get the story in my head before I go and an idea of the characters, but I still find it difficult to understand the finer points of the plays.

[rockyracoon]

I think that was on Sky last night Nox, perhaps I should have made an effort to watch it. I just saw the title and groaned.

[Mick-Talbot]

Shakespeare Playzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

[maggiebee]

Did all the usual ones at school but only really understood Hamlet and Macbeth as we had a brilliant English teacher who brought them to life. More recently did a short course at Uni and again met a lecturer who was so enthusiastic about Shakespeare. Now happy to dip a toe in now and again.

[NOX]

I think people just panic with Shakespeare- I certainly used to and used to hate it, then I got together with my second wife who is an actress and Director and she gave me an entirely different perspective on it. Once you get past the idea that it's a language you can't understand you actually realise it's incredibly easy to understand and allow it to blossom in your head you start to find the expression and poetry in it rather than struggle to ' translate' it if you like. Certainly read the texts but don't try to make sense of them inside your head, read them aloud, you will see then how they flow and the meaning instantly becomes much clearer.

[rockyracoon]

We did Twelfth Night and Midsummer Nights Dream in school (no wonder I got a D for English Lit O Level), the teacher used to explain what was going on asking for opinions from pupils along the way, I used to sit and wonder if I was actually reading the same book as everyone else.

[craft1948]

Luckily in my 'O' Level year we were given a choice between Shakespeare and Sheridan, so I did The Rivals; I'd have failed if I'd had to do Midsummer Night's Dream................

[Prudie]

loathe

[marval]

Some I like a lot, some a little less

[Jeza]

When at school we were often taken to Shakespeare plays. I always came away with a headache, in the end I begged my Dad not to pay for me to go. Some of the musical adaptations are good though.

[gness]

I love them. MacBeth in a thunderstorm at Stamford outdoor theatre was stunning.
I was unsure about Shakespeare in modern dress but done well and I'm won over.
Judi Dench as Cleopatra gave a truly memorable performance which is more that I can say for the Hopkins clown's attempt to play Antony.