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nineveh_ukTo meme, obviously. I've read all of them on account of my education, seen some, cared about fewer. I cannot act to save my life, so I've never been in any of them except for the usual having to read in school English lessons. I think my own lesson from doing this is that good Shakespeare productions have been some of my best theatrical experiences, but that indifferent ones are as indifferent as anything else.
What I've seen and what I thought about it...
Antony and Cleopatra - Seen two RSC productions in 1994 (school trip) and c. 2006. Both unremarkable, despite the fact that the second starred Harriet Walter and Patrick Stewart, which is particularly disappointing. The first had Bergerac as Enobarbus, which is pretty much the sole thing I remember about it.
Coriolanus - Ralph Fiennes, twice. I think that the film was better than the play (Almeida), which I principally remember for an audience member being taken ill and having to be helped out. The fact that I was in a standing place at the back cannot have improved it.
Cymbeline - Enormously entertaining production at the Globe with a cast of five playing multiple parts while dressed in white karate suits. Mark Rylance as both Posthumus and Cloten. The final scene of revelation after revelation brought the house down, and will forever remind me of Prince Ludwig the Indestructible in Blackadder II: 'I was one of his sheep.'
Hamlet - Studied at A-level, but didn't see it at the time. On stage, another unremarkable RSC production, with Sam West in 2001 and a really annoying Ophelia who used that artificially throaty voices some young actresses seem to, I assume because they don't really know how to project. The RSC redeemed itself in 2008 with the David Tennant production, which I saw during the period that Tennant had done his back in and was on sick leave, although the understudy was excellent, as was his understudy, playing Laertes. This also had Patrick Stewart as a much more memorable Claudius than Anthony, and Penny Downie as Gertrude. On TV/film, the Tennant version actually with Tennant, Mel Gibson, and Branagh's All The Text production, which I enjoyed because it had Fortinbras in it properly. I've also seen Ambrose Thomas's opera, produced by Opera North, which I liked a lot and included Ophelia drowning in a pool of water, reflected in a mirror, which must have been a challenge to sing.
Henry IV, Parts I and II - Donmar Warehouse all women production, good, but which I principally remember for not being as good as Julius Caesar. I was probably influenced by being ill at the time.
Henry V - Probably my first live Shakespeare (that wasn't opera, see Macbeth, my parents took us to Stratford in my early teens. I know that I enjoyed it, but I remember it principally for the hotel, which we drove past because we didn't believe we'd have booked something that looked that nice/expensive, and the introduction to the useful stage code of the French being dressed in pale blue possibly with fleur-de-lis. Filmwise, I've seen clips of the Branagh version.
Henry VI, Parts I, II and III - Adaptation over two evenings, at the Roundhouse theatre in London, another good RSC effort. Absolutely fantastic, the whole thing was gripping and made one appreciate what these 'lesser' plays really have to offer. Katy Stephens as Joan/Margaret a standout, but strong performances all round with the small parts also striking - I recall the scene of A Father That Has Killed His Son and A Son That Has Killed His Father. With Richard III, it's also probably responsible for quite a bit of my knowledge of the Wars of the Roses, given that naturally we didn't cover this in much detail at school; I would definitely have remembered the Battle of Towton.
Julius Caesar - The first of the Donmar Warehouse's all women, prison-set Shakespeare's with Harriet Walter an intelligent Brutus and also Frances Barber as a physically imposing Caesar. I was less struck by the next year's Henry IV and didn't see The Tempest on account of its being The Tempest, but this alone would have justified the project.
King Lear - Film with Ian Holm, and a West Yorkshire Playhouse production that was not particularly inspired and had an annoyingly gravelly Cordelia.
Love's Labour's Lost - Branagh film, alas, not as good as his Much Ado.
Macbeth - First Shakespeare ever, Leeds Youth Opera doing the Verdi version. This was certainly better than the only time I've seen the actual play, a very dull York Theatre Royal production with too much dry ice. Alas, I was in Denmark when Harriet Walter did it for the RSC with Anthony Sher. I should watch the DVD.
Measure for Measure - the excellent Almeida production with Anna Maxwell-Martin and Rory Kinnear, seen with Youngest Sister. Reviewed on LJ here. There is no great opera of M4M that I am aware of, though the internet informs me that Wagner wrote a comic version. The mind boggles. I feel let down by Verdi - I love infamous bargain plots, and Angelo and Isabella could have had some fantastic duets. TV-wise, the BBC Shakespeare production was rather beige, but had Tim Pigott-Smith as a suitably evil Angelo in a performance that is a bit like an audition for his Ronald Merrick. There was an early-90s BBC version, too, entirely forgotten.
The Merchant of Venice - In here as an honorary mention, because I would really, really like to have seen it on stage, but don't think that I have. Have definitely seen a film/TV production, but forget which.
The Merry Wives of Windsor - Long ago Opera North production of Falstaff, which was definitely funny.
A Midsummer Night's Dream - The other half of the year did this one for GCSE. Live, I've only seen an utterly dreadful outdoor production at Fountain's Abbey, with a cast of four in black catsuits, running around in circles a lot, and one of them with a very squeaky voice. Much more successful was the BBC Shakespeare production.
Much Ado about Nothing - I think that the Branagh film has to go first here, because I absolutely adored it, and I should watch it again. It looked gorgeous and was wonderfully romantic, the acting is really good (except Keanu Reeves), and Emma Thompson's 'Kill Claudio' is just brilliant. I saw the Tennant/Tate production in the theatre, which was a lot of fun, and also interesting in terms of how large a proportion had evidently not seen the Branagh/Thompson film and were surprised by the plot. Also fondly remembered for this conversation on the way how with Youngest Sister.
Othello - I saw the opera first, WNO and possibly in English. Then the National Theatre production with Adrian Lester and Rory Kinnear, memorable both for strong performances and a very effective use of Emilia, and also for the audience member who summed up the villain thus: 'That Iago! What an asshole!'
Richard II - BBC Hollow Crown only. Alas, not Tennant. A mistaken life choice, I fear.
Richard III - The Ian McKellan film. No idea at this remove about it as an interpretation of the play, but a very enjoyable film with an excellent villain.
Romeo and Juliet - The Zefferelli film (absolutely adored by teen!me, I watched it a lot GCSE year), Baz Luhrman film, and two ballets (Royal Ballet and Northern Ballet Theatre), but I wouldn't actually swear I've seen the play. Surely I have? But maybe not.
The Taming of The Shrew - Twice on stage, one in my early 20s that I can scarcely remember, but was lauded for a feminist reading, and once at West Yorkshire Playhouse when I was 17, and which I remember as remarkable. It kept the frame, played it straight, and by the end the audience - or at least that part of it made up of sixth form girls - was practically spitting in fury. I've also seen Cole Porter's Kiss Me Kate twice (plus the film, which rather drew its sting) and am a big fan of it. It is funny, fast, great tunes, and you don't get better wordplay than Where is the life that late I led? For film, Ten Things I Hate About You is of course a stand-out of that period of classic teen rom com adaptations.
The Tempest - Another school trip to Newcastle to see the RSC. I remember it being weird, but quite engaging, more so than A&C. It had Simon Russell Beale as Ariel in a blue Mao suit, which it is fair to say was casting against type. No desire to ever see it again, even for Harriet Walter.
Troilus and Cressida - BBC Shakespeare again. I was in a Mary Renault phase.
Twelfth Night - GCSE, the BBC Shakespeare production with Felicity Kendall, which despite her Little Lord Fauntleroy costume the class rather took to. It remains my favourite comedy and quite possibly my favourite Shakespeare. The 90s film with Imogen Stubbs and Toby Stephens is pleasant enough, but ought to be better than it is. Seen twice in the theatre, another unmemorable RSC production, and a fantastic all-male one at the Globe with Mark Rylance as Olivia.
The Winter's Tale - A-Level and BBC Shakespeare. Hated both with a fiery passion (even despite Robert Stephens as Leontes). You could not pay me to see it live.
What I've seen and what I thought about it...
Antony and Cleopatra - Seen two RSC productions in 1994 (school trip) and c. 2006. Both unremarkable, despite the fact that the second starred Harriet Walter and Patrick Stewart, which is particularly disappointing. The first had Bergerac as Enobarbus, which is pretty much the sole thing I remember about it.
Coriolanus - Ralph Fiennes, twice. I think that the film was better than the play (Almeida), which I principally remember for an audience member being taken ill and having to be helped out. The fact that I was in a standing place at the back cannot have improved it.
Cymbeline - Enormously entertaining production at the Globe with a cast of five playing multiple parts while dressed in white karate suits. Mark Rylance as both Posthumus and Cloten. The final scene of revelation after revelation brought the house down, and will forever remind me of Prince Ludwig the Indestructible in Blackadder II: 'I was one of his sheep.'
Hamlet - Studied at A-level, but didn't see it at the time. On stage, another unremarkable RSC production, with Sam West in 2001 and a really annoying Ophelia who used that artificially throaty voices some young actresses seem to, I assume because they don't really know how to project. The RSC redeemed itself in 2008 with the David Tennant production, which I saw during the period that Tennant had done his back in and was on sick leave, although the understudy was excellent, as was his understudy, playing Laertes. This also had Patrick Stewart as a much more memorable Claudius than Anthony, and Penny Downie as Gertrude. On TV/film, the Tennant version actually with Tennant, Mel Gibson, and Branagh's All The Text production, which I enjoyed because it had Fortinbras in it properly. I've also seen Ambrose Thomas's opera, produced by Opera North, which I liked a lot and included Ophelia drowning in a pool of water, reflected in a mirror, which must have been a challenge to sing.
Henry IV, Parts I and II - Donmar Warehouse all women production, good, but which I principally remember for not being as good as Julius Caesar. I was probably influenced by being ill at the time.
Henry V - Probably my first live Shakespeare (that wasn't opera, see Macbeth, my parents took us to Stratford in my early teens. I know that I enjoyed it, but I remember it principally for the hotel, which we drove past because we didn't believe we'd have booked something that looked that nice/expensive, and the introduction to the useful stage code of the French being dressed in pale blue possibly with fleur-de-lis. Filmwise, I've seen clips of the Branagh version.
Henry VI, Parts I, II and III - Adaptation over two evenings, at the Roundhouse theatre in London, another good RSC effort. Absolutely fantastic, the whole thing was gripping and made one appreciate what these 'lesser' plays really have to offer. Katy Stephens as Joan/Margaret a standout, but strong performances all round with the small parts also striking - I recall the scene of A Father That Has Killed His Son and A Son That Has Killed His Father. With Richard III, it's also probably responsible for quite a bit of my knowledge of the Wars of the Roses, given that naturally we didn't cover this in much detail at school; I would definitely have remembered the Battle of Towton.
Julius Caesar - The first of the Donmar Warehouse's all women, prison-set Shakespeare's with Harriet Walter an intelligent Brutus and also Frances Barber as a physically imposing Caesar. I was less struck by the next year's Henry IV and didn't see The Tempest on account of its being The Tempest, but this alone would have justified the project.
King Lear - Film with Ian Holm, and a West Yorkshire Playhouse production that was not particularly inspired and had an annoyingly gravelly Cordelia.
Love's Labour's Lost - Branagh film, alas, not as good as his Much Ado.
Macbeth - First Shakespeare ever, Leeds Youth Opera doing the Verdi version. This was certainly better than the only time I've seen the actual play, a very dull York Theatre Royal production with too much dry ice. Alas, I was in Denmark when Harriet Walter did it for the RSC with Anthony Sher. I should watch the DVD.
Measure for Measure - the excellent Almeida production with Anna Maxwell-Martin and Rory Kinnear, seen with Youngest Sister. Reviewed on LJ here. There is no great opera of M4M that I am aware of, though the internet informs me that Wagner wrote a comic version. The mind boggles. I feel let down by Verdi - I love infamous bargain plots, and Angelo and Isabella could have had some fantastic duets. TV-wise, the BBC Shakespeare production was rather beige, but had Tim Pigott-Smith as a suitably evil Angelo in a performance that is a bit like an audition for his Ronald Merrick. There was an early-90s BBC version, too, entirely forgotten.
The Merchant of Venice - In here as an honorary mention, because I would really, really like to have seen it on stage, but don't think that I have. Have definitely seen a film/TV production, but forget which.
The Merry Wives of Windsor - Long ago Opera North production of Falstaff, which was definitely funny.
A Midsummer Night's Dream - The other half of the year did this one for GCSE. Live, I've only seen an utterly dreadful outdoor production at Fountain's Abbey, with a cast of four in black catsuits, running around in circles a lot, and one of them with a very squeaky voice. Much more successful was the BBC Shakespeare production.
Much Ado about Nothing - I think that the Branagh film has to go first here, because I absolutely adored it, and I should watch it again. It looked gorgeous and was wonderfully romantic, the acting is really good (except Keanu Reeves), and Emma Thompson's 'Kill Claudio' is just brilliant. I saw the Tennant/Tate production in the theatre, which was a lot of fun, and also interesting in terms of how large a proportion had evidently not seen the Branagh/Thompson film and were surprised by the plot. Also fondly remembered for this conversation on the way how with Youngest Sister.
Othello - I saw the opera first, WNO and possibly in English. Then the National Theatre production with Adrian Lester and Rory Kinnear, memorable both for strong performances and a very effective use of Emilia, and also for the audience member who summed up the villain thus: 'That Iago! What an asshole!'
Richard II - BBC Hollow Crown only. Alas, not Tennant. A mistaken life choice, I fear.
Richard III - The Ian McKellan film. No idea at this remove about it as an interpretation of the play, but a very enjoyable film with an excellent villain.
Romeo and Juliet - The Zefferelli film (absolutely adored by teen!me, I watched it a lot GCSE year), Baz Luhrman film, and two ballets (Royal Ballet and Northern Ballet Theatre), but I wouldn't actually swear I've seen the play. Surely I have? But maybe not.
The Taming of The Shrew - Twice on stage, one in my early 20s that I can scarcely remember, but was lauded for a feminist reading, and once at West Yorkshire Playhouse when I was 17, and which I remember as remarkable. It kept the frame, played it straight, and by the end the audience - or at least that part of it made up of sixth form girls - was practically spitting in fury. I've also seen Cole Porter's Kiss Me Kate twice (plus the film, which rather drew its sting) and am a big fan of it. It is funny, fast, great tunes, and you don't get better wordplay than Where is the life that late I led? For film, Ten Things I Hate About You is of course a stand-out of that period of classic teen rom com adaptations.
The Tempest - Another school trip to Newcastle to see the RSC. I remember it being weird, but quite engaging, more so than A&C. It had Simon Russell Beale as Ariel in a blue Mao suit, which it is fair to say was casting against type. No desire to ever see it again, even for Harriet Walter.
Troilus and Cressida - BBC Shakespeare again. I was in a Mary Renault phase.
Twelfth Night - GCSE, the BBC Shakespeare production with Felicity Kendall, which despite her Little Lord Fauntleroy costume the class rather took to. It remains my favourite comedy and quite possibly my favourite Shakespeare. The 90s film with Imogen Stubbs and Toby Stephens is pleasant enough, but ought to be better than it is. Seen twice in the theatre, another unmemorable RSC production, and a fantastic all-male one at the Globe with Mark Rylance as Olivia.
The Winter's Tale - A-Level and BBC Shakespeare. Hated both with a fiery passion (even despite Robert Stephens as Leontes). You could not pay me to see it live.
(no subject)
Date: 2019-08-14 07:14 pm (UTC)I think the problem with Stubbs/Stephens TN is that it's actually a rather intimate play, but the film kept going for wide shots of the landscape. In retrospect, I would sort of expect Ross Poldark to be galloping over the horizon.
Inspired by these linked Shakespeare discussions, I started watching the BBC Cymbeline, which made me think "more Posthumus Leontes, amirite?"
(no subject)
Date: 2019-08-15 03:24 pm (UTC)I think that you might be on to something with Stubbs/Stephens. Lots of landscape, lots of general atmosphere, but the prettiness doesn't actually add anything in itself, and it means that you don't really get much sense of intimacy.
"more Posthumus Leontes, amirite?"
He's definitely not one of Shakespeare's more admirable husbands.
(no subject)
Date: 2019-08-16 09:26 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2019-08-17 01:41 pm (UTC)Do you recommend any of the TV/film Henry Vs in particular?
(no subject)
Date: 2019-08-18 06:01 am (UTC)I was raised on Olivier's Henry V, which my father adored, but in the same way as I started to have critical thoughts about the Narnia books, I began to go off all the Henry worship, beginning with his scene with Kate, in which he just shows off all the time and completely ignores her entirely reasonable objections ("Is it possible for me to love the enemy of France?", while the film very firmly takes his side. The film also sneers at Mistress Quickly, so its misogyny score is high. One of the things I loved about the Branagh film is that it treats both women as people in their own right, which was balm to the soul after Olivier's shittiness. When Branagh's Henry woos Kate, he genuinely woos her - he takes her doubts seriously (albeit not so seriously as to have a good answer to them, but at least he delivers his "I love France so well I will not part with a village of it" as an ironic joke they can both share) and they end up as friends. (The stage version I saw with Adrian Lester as Henry took it a step further and made it absolutely clear that the whole wooing scene is a sham, the marriage is a forced one that Kate has no say in, and when Henry kisses her it's manifestly rape. I loved that production - it undermined the Henry myth every step of the way).
Anyway, to answer your actual question, I would recommend the Branagh version over Olivier for its treatment of the women characters and for the "Let there be sung non nobis and te deum" scene, which is magnificent. Olivier's version was a deliberate piece of wartime propaganda and is in any case so old as to have dated horribly. The Branagh version is also pretty ancient now but it has enough virtues to be worth watching. The BBC production I saw is even older and very unmemorable. The very best production was, of course, my own (ok, maybe the Adrian Lester version was a teeny weeny bit better....) but there is no recording of that one.
(no subject)
Date: 2019-08-23 03:09 pm (UTC)Thanks for the film assessment. I shall skip the misogyny, and in the absence of yours, watch the Branagh version. The Adrian Lester does sound good, I felt he was a very good stage actor in Othello, so I could see him doing a more revisionist take on Henry successfully.