We’ve asked the question here before about when you “got” Shakespeare.  Liz at Blogging Shakespeare puts a more specific spin on the question when she asks what production did you see that made you “get” it?  With examples from Hamlet, Much Ado and Julius Caesar, Liz cites from her own experience.  Bonus points for acknowledging that she’s not yet seen her defining Lear, and until then, “King Lear is a story about a stupid old man who makes a stupid mistake and gets his comeuppance.” I’m not sure I have my own story to add, however. I think that this is one of those lines that divides the world of Shakespeare fandom a bit.  Some people, particularly those that are in the business, will have the desire and opportunity to seek out many productions.  More casual theatre goers, like myself, will see far less.  My wife came with me to see King Lear once.  It wasn’t a good production.  But if King Lear came around every year, it’s not like I could drag her to it every time.  But unless somebody’s paying for the privilege I can’t go off on my own and see every production that comes to town, either. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve seen my share.  Seen a number of Midsummers’, Tempests and Hamlets in particular.  But for the most part I switch over to movies, which I have a better shot at watching in my down time, carrying around Richard Burton or Ian McKellan on my ipod.  For those live productions that I have seen?  I can’t say that any are really “get it” moments.  I leave that for the text.  I try to learn something new from every production I see, certainly.  But I don’t think I’ve yet seen one that I’d call defining in any way.

Following up on the Perspective thread, a slightly different spin :

What “high school classic”, that you never read in high school, did you finally get around to reading, only to not see what the big deal was?

I don’t want to talk about what you loved, or how every book you pick up you grok from the first word.  I want to hear about something that modern culture tells you should have meant something to you, and just… didn’t.

We’re a bit of a strange group, we Shakespeare geeks.  We voluntarily seek out and read things that, were we teenagers, our teachers would have had to force us to read, giving us quizzes at every breaking point and asking us all about themes and symbolism.
So having just read Catcher in the Rye 25 odd years after I should have, with no teachers to tell me what it’s about, I find that my perspective has changed. I didn’t love it.  I think it’s a good book, and I can see that it’s trying to tell me … something.  But I’m not sure I fully grasp what.  And, 25 years after the fact, I’m not sure that I can.
Does that make sense?  We’ve often talked about approaches to teaching Shakespeare, and the difference between getting the kids to love it versus telling them to just shut up and do it. But I think there’s a big gap in between those two that isn’t served by that sort of black and white approach. Namely, do you understand it? Do you have questions, do you need help? Most importantly, what does the material mean to you?
As a 40yr old father of 3, Catcher in the Rye to me is an unrealistic, dated story about an annoying 12yr old who has some pretty hefty psych issues, very likely depression and possibly some form of attention deficit disorder.  I didn’t bond with the title character in any way.   I didn’t sympathize with him.  I didn’t get him.
I wonder which is more at fault, the fact that it’s no longer as relevant to me? Or the fact that I didn’t have somebody spoonfeeding it to me?
re: the Shakespeare connection, by the way, we’ll do another post on that one.  I’m not willing to accept that Hamlet gets credit for every angst-ridden teenager with parent issues, unless we want to go all Bloomy and just say that Shakespeare invented the human.

I’m sure most geeks know that Shakespeare translations have been available in Klingon for years.  I’m not sure I’ve ever heard about anyone trying to perform it in Klingon, however.  They’re just doing selections (Hamlet and Much Ado), but still, it could be interesting to watch.  I wonder if they’ll be dressed up in Klingon garb? By the way:

The company will speak the verse in both English and Klingon with the lines in iambic pentameter.

Iambic pentameter defines how it is written, not how it is spoken.  If they’re saying that the Klingon translation is also in iambic pentameter I’ll be impressed, but I also expect that it’ll be about as poetic as the typical syllable counting that goes on with most people that any 5-7-5 poem counts as a haiku.

How about a Rocky Horror Hamlet?  That’s what Chris Barton and the Westminster Theatre Company have put together, and it sounds pretty darned good. I would write more, but I can’t really do a better job than the reviewer, who calls it “both compelling and exciting, one of the best shows I have seen in a while. “  Go check it out.