Favorite Shakespeare Play (AND WHY)

I like "Twelfth Night". This will sound stupid, but I like how they deceive them, and disguise themselves. I love any play/movie/musical/novel where people get fooled.

I like "The Merchant of Venice". This will sound stupid, but I like how they deceive them, and disguise themselves. I love any play/movie/musical/novel where people get fooled.

I like "Cymbeline". This will sound stupid, but I like how they deceive them, and disguise themselves. I love any play/movie/musical/novel where people get fooled.

I like "Much Ado About Nothing". This will sound stupid, but I like how they deceive them, and disguise themselves. I love any play/movie/musical/novel where people get fooled.

I like "The Winter's Tale". This will sound stupid, but I like how they deceive them, and disguise themselves. I love any play/movie/musical/novel where people get fooled.

I like "Othello". This will sound stupid, but I like how they deceive them, and disguise themselves. I love any play/movie/musical/novel where people get fooled.

Oh, I thought you were actually a Jewish boy. Never mind. I like to keep track of the Jews on BWW.

There's:

Me
Jane2
scaryclowns
winston89
MarcShaiman
LiTtLeDaNcEr729

There's more, I'm sure, but we do represent a minority.

Why do you keep track of Jews on BWW Emma?

Why? Do you have some Jewish code only other Jews know Emma?

I have two favourite Shakespeare plays. But they're very related to each other. ^_^

My first favourite and most favourite is 'Henry V'. I've seen, read, and watched quite a bit of Shakespeare over the years, but I never really clicked. I'd just go "gosh, I can see why that's supposed to be good" or "well, that seemed to be very well done", but there was no connection. Then I went to see 'Henry V' in Stratford-upon-Avon last October, and the click happened! I was enthralled! I was watching it, loving it, getting engrossed, swept away, laughing, cowering, everything. I understood the words the actors were saying, and I found myself responding appropriately. It was simply awesome, and the three hours+ just flew by. For the first time, I actually GOT Shakespeare, and 'Henry V' will always be my favourite play for doing that to me. (Plus I'm a vicious little beast who likes plays to be full of swordplay and gore. )

My other favourite is the first part of 'Henry IV'. I've always been into plays that explore relationships between two men ('Amadeus', 'Kiss Of The Spider Woman', 'Bent', etc), so the fact that this play does that in droves meant I wasn't ever not going to like it. I'm not big on Falstaff, as a disturbing number of people seem to be, but I do like seeing where Hal comes from in order to get to 'Henry V', and I'm coming over all giddy at the thought of the Hal/Hotspur battle in act 5 scene 4. There is no such thing as too many Henrys, as far as I'm concerned. :3

On Friday 23rd May this year, I saw both parts of 'Henry IV' and 'Henry V' in one day, and it was quite simply the best day I've ever had at the theatre. When they invent time machines, I'm going back.

I only wish someone had introduced me to the History plays sooner. I was vaguely aware there was more to Shakespeare than Tragedy and Comedy, but I assumed that because no one really mentioned the Histories (apart from occasional references to 'Richard III'), they were quite dry and boring and not well thought of. SO wrong! The Histories are my favourite Shakespeare plays, and I'm so happy I found that out with enough time to see the eight play Histories Cycle (from 'Richard II' to 'Richard III' over a period of four days with all the roles played by the same ensemble) back in May. ^_^

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"12th Night"-because it's funny.

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I'd like to put in a vote for TROILUS AND CRESSIDA

I saw it at the RSC (maybe 10 years ago?), and I found the characters and all their different internal dilemnas very moving

Played well (as Victoria Hamilton definitely did), your heart just breaks for Cressida. She tries so hard to be plucky and brave in an AWFUL situation, but her heart is broken, as basically everyone she cares about has betrayed her

You want to be angry at Troilus (and it's not hard), but Joseph Fiennes brought enough feeling to the part that he ended up being not *totally* despicable

I felt very moved and sympathetic towards Pandarus at the end. And I LOVED Thersites -- I found him the easiest to identify with (basically going with the flow, and pretty much disgusted with everyone around him)

And while Achilles isn't too likeable in the play, Philip Quast was very moving when he carried Patroclus' body onto the stage at the end. It's not like you could blame him for breaking away from Agamemnon and Ulysses and Nestor -- they WERE really annoying

And of course, Hector was just so good and brave and strong. He was easy to admire and like

There were so many characters, and so many had fully-developed, REAL-feeling personalities. I found sorting it all out in my head afterwards a lot of fun (I saw it 3 times, and it never got old)

I guess it's a pretty cynical play, and I like that too

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Updated On: 6/26/08 at 12:23 PM

Merchant of Venice is one of my favorites- I love how dark and complicated it is, even though its a comedy. And really, it's incredible just for the "Hath not a Jew eyes" speech.

Of the Tragedies, I would have to go with Macbeth. It is absolutely chilling, with some of my favorite lines in all of Shakespeare. And Lady Macbeth is wicked cool :). (Cool, of course, meaning crazy and terrifying.)

AS YOU LIKE IT, as it has the dazzling "7 stages of man" speech.

My favorite Shakespeare Play is HAMLET, simply because it's just such an epic story, a classic revenge plot, and I just love all the characters in the play.

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The Tempest. Because it was the last and best one. He finally got it right and he quit.