Anyone who enjoys Shakespeare

[EveryKneeShallBow]

… who has been your greatest actor, and in which role?

For me (I live in the middle of nowhere so I watch YouTube and NT Online)

Adrian Lester as Othello, with Rory Kinnear as Iago
Andrew Scott as Hamlet
Tamsin Greig as Malvolio

I loved Patrick Stewart in The Tempest and Antony and Cleo - he was doing both and must have been shattered (Antony was very physical, too). He was fabulous.

Janet Suzman's Hamlet in 2006 was a stand-out production for me - absolutely bloody brilliant.

I feel a bit conflicted about it, because he's evidently a thoroughly unpleasant man, but Kevin Spacey's Richard II was good, and I really liked how they did the 'This Scepter'd Isle' bit.

I referred to Shakespeare as The Bard because he's not allowed in any pubs round here.

My missing three

Henry VIII
Pericles
Corialanus

I saw Two Noble Kinsmen when it opened The Swan with Gerard Murphy, Hugh Quarshie and the very gorgeous Imogen Stubbs.

I love this thread, I've seen a lot but also missed a lot. So many productions, so little money!

Excellent! Those three are certainly harder to catch.

A friend of a uni friend had seen all but one play live on stage by the time he was 30 - for his 30th he had Merry Wives of Windsor (which was the missing one) staged in his garden.

I think he was both posh and rich. Not that I am saying the Shakespeare fans here are either of those (unless you want to be!)

I can see why they have been tricky! The Globe revived Henry VIII last year but it’s difficult to stage and the writing is uneven. Coriolanus has had some great recentish productions - Tom Hiddleston at the Donmar was fantastic and the RSC had a good production as part of their Rome season about seven years ago? Hopefully both it and Pericles are due revivals soon.

Pericles is on at the RSC this summer!

Its one I havent seen so Im going to make an effort to see it. I've been doing the cinema viewings recently due to lack of funds as considerably cheaper than theatre. Im not sure if this will be filmed or not though so will have to try for preview tickets.

Also on is Loves Labours Lost is on April/May with one of the Bridgerton blokes.

Ooh! I love Pericles. Weirdly, I've seen in twice - once an amateur group, and once a fantastic production at the Globe where they really used the height of the building for acrobatics. I've not seen live:

• Love's Labours Lost
• Measure for Measure
• Any of the Henry VII's
• Coriolanus
• Cymbeline (though I did walk out of a very bad performance ...)
• Lear
• Timon of Athens
• Troilus and Cressida

What I really want to see is Two Noble Kinsmen.

*Henry VI's. I don't think Henry VII had it in him to inspire three plays.

To be fair, it used to be much easier.

I am 39 and (thanks to DD) haven't seen much Shakespeare since I was 30. Most of what I saw was on the lovely scheme where you got tickets for £5 at Stratford. My mate and I used to get the bus and go. You went down for the morning, saw one in the afternoon and one in the evening.

Ralph Fiennes as Edmund in King Lear. It was a long time ago and I still feel goosebumps. I’m not surprised other people are mentioning him in other roles.

I saw Derek Jacobi in Hamlet that was a great experience. We went on a school trip to a London theatre

Seeing Shakespeare done well and live was such a different experience- I never liked it until then- the difference in accessibility and engagement is night and day!

Like others Mark Rylance as Olivia, David Tennant and Catherine Tate in Much Ado about nothing, Rory Kinnear as Macbeth were highlights.

I have only read your OP. Will read the rest of the thread later.

My mum and less so my dad took me to theatre, ballet and other in London when I was a child. The National Theatre was nearly my 2nd home! Audience only - we are not connected at all. So many decades later I took my mum to see the Othello with Adrian Lester and Rory Kinnear. I was so excited - great theatre, great cast. It's a big theatre. Our seats were not front stalls. When you can see the top of the set the magic goes no matter how good the cast. It didn't work for me. Seeing Mark Rylance as Iago at the Globe - mind blowing. The grasp of character was extraordinary.

Am I the only one who hates Mark Rylance?

I saw him at the Globe in The Tempest (years ago) playing what felt like almost every sodding part. The subplots are hard enough to follow anyway without the same bloody person playing all the parts.

Couple people have mentioned Robert Stephens as Lear. The performance was so powerful. As it turns out he had terminal cancer at the time and once he died and that came out, it added an aspect to his performance that is so touching.

Simon Russell Beale as Ariel, spitting in Prospero's face as someone also mentioned. Theater was stunned.

Yes!!!

McKellen's recent Hamlet was good in a different way. I'm looking forward to seeing it again.

David Tennant in Comedy Of Errors at Stratford in 2001, before he was really famous, before he did Dr Who, was very funny.

Robert Stephens as King Lear in 1993 (!), also David Bradley aka Walder Frey from GOT as Gloucester.

My mum loved going to Stratford and I (reluctantly) went with her after my dad died, 1993 being the first year and 2019 being the last.

Am going to see Midsummers Nights Dream for my birthday this year and am taking my (reluctant) husband, he’s never been to watch Shakespeare ………

Patrick Stewart as Shylock