Category: Shakespeare Plays

William Shakespeare is widely regarded as one of the most influential playwrights in history, and his plays have been performed and studied for centuries. From the timeless tragedy of Romeo and Juliet to the hilarious antics of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Shakespeare’s plays continue to captivate audiences around the world. Whether you’re a fan of tragedy, comedy, or romance, there’s a Shakespeare play for everyone. So why not revisit these timeless classics and discover the magic of Shakespeare for yourself?

Browse the entire text of Shakespeare’s plays right here on Shakespeare Geek.

What Shakespeare Did You Read In High School?

~ duane ~ 39 Comments

I always assume that Romeo & Juliet is still the most popular, but I have nothing to back that up except my own experience which is now pretty old :). I also have no true appreciation of the breadth of plays that some teachers choose.

So, enlighten me. Whether you teach high school, you’re in high school, or, like me, high school is a distant memory, what plays did you read? The more you remember, the better. I’m trying to develop a spectrum from most commonly read all the way down to never read, so it’s equally important that we learn which plays *arent* being taught. If you’re a teacher, a little extra info on frequency (“I’ve taught Hamlet every year for 20 years but this is the first year we’re doing All’s Well That Ends Well”) would help as well.

I remember reading: Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Macbeth, Julius Caesar, Othello and Taming of the Shrew. I think I can also include Richard II, the Henry plays, and Troilus and Cressida – but truthfully, I can’t remember whether I read those in high school or early in college. Maybe Midsummer?

Who else? If you’re a teacher and know teachers in other schools, please take a moment to forward this post. The more information, the better!
  

McKellen's Hamlet

~ duane ~ Leave a comment

Ok, how have I been on the net most of my life and never seen this? Sir Ian McKellen’s theatrical scrapbook is online, complete with photos, original touring dates, and words from Sir Ian himself. Just…..wow. 1972.

On the first night of Hamlet at the Nottingham Playhouse last week, Robert Chetwyn, the director, went into the lavatory and heard his production being dismissed as “damned teenage twaddle”. Ian McKellen, who is 30 and plays Hamlet, was pleased to be thought of as a teenager. After the third performance about 100 young people stood shouting and clapping their approval and this pleased Mr. McKellen even more. “It looks as if we have a controversial Hamlet, he said. “Now we will have to be ready for the national critics not liking it”.

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My 4yr old Hamlet

~ duane ~ Leave a comment

Working on my computer at home yesterday, my 4yr old son comes running into the room. He’s been on the family computer, playing what they call The Shakespeare Game, an animated flash thing we’ve talked about before where a modern actor dressed like Shakespeare asks process-of-elimination questions about characters until you finally guess the right answer (“The character I’m thinking about was not a friend of Romeo.” So, cross out Mercutio. You get the idea.)

Anyway, 4yr old comes flying into the room to announce, “Daddy Daddy Daddy! I’m playing the Shakespeare game? And the question was Hamlet? And I got the right answer!”

“Great job!” I say. “High five!”

The boy delivers an acceptable high five, and then without missing a beat leaves his hand up in the air almost as if holding Yorick’s skull and says, “To be….or not to be. That is the question.” And then runs back into the room to play more.

I love my house.

Romeo and … Brittney? All Right.

~ duane ~ Leave a comment

These names – Romeo and Brittney – kept coming up on my newsfeeds over the last couple of days. Given how overused the name Romeo is these days, and attaching no special significance to the name Brittney, I skipped them. Most of them.
Turns out that Romeo and Brittney is to be a new “literate teen comedy” in the style of Ten Things I Hate About You (which, as we know, was based on Shrew – and was also quite a success, spinning off it’s own tv show).

Karen Gillan has landed a lead role as a time-travelling Juliet in David Baddiel’s directorial debut, Romeo And Brittney.

The Scottish beauty, best known for playing Doctor Who’s feisty companion Amy Pond, will play a high school teenager from New Jersey who finds herself travelling back in time to “mythical 13th-century Verona” in William Shakespeare’s Romeo And Juliet, reported Deadline.

That could be cool. I love the whole Dr. Who connection, what with David Tennant and all.

Top Shakespeare Costumes for Halloween

~ duane ~ 5 Comments

Ok, ok, I want to play too. Over the last week or so I’ve seen lists for tv shows, family movies, horror movies – everything to get you in the Halloween mood. But what about our little corner of the world? Doesn’t Shakespeare have anything to get us into the Halloween Spirit? Here’s my contribution:

Twelfth Night

You’re a girl? Dress up like a boy. You’re a boy? Dress up like a girl dressing up like a boy. Twelfth Night’s main character spends the whole play in costume. We discovered, a few months back, that she’s not even called by her real name until the very end of the play!

Julius Caesar

Why just be any ghost, when you can be Great Caesar’s Ghost(*)? Don’t skimp on the knife wounds, or the blood. Lots and lots of blood. Or if you really want to wear a toga and don’t want to get blood all over it, dip your arms in the red stuff up to your elbows, then go as Brutus.

(*) Bonus points if you can actually convince somebody to dress up like J Jonah Jameson from the Spiderman movies, and then spend the night pointing at you and shouting that.

Hamlet

I knew Hamlet would make a good costume when my 4yr old spotted the idea on one of his cartoon shows. After random channel flipping he comes running into my office to tell me “Daddy, somebody on tv is dressed like Shakespeare!” Along comes the 6 and 8yr olds to tell me “Well, not Shakespeare – he’s dressed like Hamlet. He’s holding a skull and talking to it.”

Of course you could also go with Ophelia, although taking a quick jump in the pool before going out trick or treating might cause you to catch your death (ha!). Then again why not go as Hamlet’s father’s ghost? I’ll leave it up to reader imagination to depict how exactly you’d walk around wearing your beaver up.

Or you could do like I did, and go as Yorick.

The Tempest

A witch (although, granted, she doesn’t really make much of an appearance), a wizard, a sea monster, an airy spirit. Plenty of opportunity here to take a traditional Halloween costume and really run with it. If you want to get really creative, grab a partner and dress up as Stefano and Trinculo. I always described them as pirates to my kids, although “court jester” is probably more accurate.

Titus Andronicus

How can you not have fun dressing up like Titus? Put on a chef’s hat and bloody apron, carry a cleaver and a big stew pot. Throw a prop head in it, maybe a prop hand while you’re at it. Shakespeare’s goriest tragedy is often compared to a modern slasher movie, so why not just go completely over the top with it? Bring along your daughter. Don’t let her talk.

Macbeth

Ghosts make plenty of appearances in Shakespeare’s work, The Tempest and Midsummer are both loaded with magical goings on … but really, is there any play scarier than Macbeth? Dress up like a weird sister, dress up like Banquo’s ghost. Or maybe a sleepwalking Lady Macbeth, covered in blood? For the really inside reference, go as Macduff – carry around Macbeth’s head.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Fairies are timeless, in more ways than one. If you need a couple’s idea, why not Titania and Oberon? I love the idea of an entire family dressing up as Midsummer, with the kids playing the roles of Cobweb, Mustardseed and the others. Or go in a completely different direction and make an ass of yourself, literally.

Have I forgotten any? You can always throw on your monk’s outfit and go as Friar Laurence (carry around a pickaxe, crowbar or some other tomb-opening implement for extra credit), or really grab any random “Elizabethan” or “Renaissance” costume from the local store and say that you’re the lead in As You Like It, Much Ado, or any of the other romantic comedies.

What else? Who’s got the creative ideas?