when at a performance of Hamlet...

[tokyonambu]

...to think that (a) having a whispered plot conference with your companion after every scene and (b) clapping your hands or (worse) slapping your thighs every time you hear a line you recognise are the signs of an idiot? I'd heard the joke about the person who left a performance of Hamlet saying that they'd enjoyed it, but the script was just a load of famous quotes, but I didn't expect to see it in action. And camcordering the curtain call because John Simm is in it? FFS.

I know, I know, when in the provinces Rome, expect provincials Romans, but it's rather annoying.

Still, not as

Worst Shakespeare I have ever seen was Ben Kingsley's Othello. David Suchet as Iago was good, but the rest was bobbins.

I saw Tennant's Hamlet.
Just wanted to brag.

hey penelope, can I have your free tickets please, as you hate shakespeare

Bah!

Saw Tennant in Love's Labour's Lost tho and he was swoonnyyyyyyy

go to the globe (it's not provincial, it's on the South Bank) - its all farting and innuendo and getting stuff chucked at the groundlings, and shouting etc. it's shakespeare - that's what it should be like.

I saw Tennant's hamlet too - got spat on by him at one point.

I saw the first half of Titus Andronicus at the Globe. It was so shit I walked out, which I've never done before (miserly emoticon). I've seen Titus acted in Japanese with subtitles and not significantly cut, so I am willing to bear with quite a lot - just not that!

It's not as if the groundlings were the only people who watched Shakespeare, so turning it all into Eastenders with added archaic rude bits is fairly stupid.

LRP - I think we'll have to agree to disagree about Shakespeare...
and I'll have to agree to disagree with everyone who doesn't like mr rylance. You stick to your highbrow stuff and I'll stick to being entertained and uplifted.

No, I don't like it to be too highbrow either. I didn't mean my post to be so opposed to yours, but honestly if you'd seen the production I saw! It was the worst kind of rubbish. You know how it sounds when teachers try to be down with the kids? It was like that, but worse. Bleugh.

I saw Mark Rylance in Richard II and liked him, but Kevin Spacey was better!

I did LRP - at the midnight performance - the pit was full of drunken students and when titus got up on stage and said "Hail Rome!" the place erupted - it was magic.
Didn't like the lycra shorts though - wot was that about?

All in all, Titus is a pretty naff play - it's like quentin tarantino circa 1594.

I should say that I saw Mark Rylance (long long ago) in Much Ado and he was excellent.

The Macbeth was a total abortion tho, my favourite play absolutley made a mockery of. Not just blaming Rylance tho, skinny Lancashire weeing woman didn't help either.

"Who'd ha thot the owd man 'ad sooo much blud in 'im?" she sounded like Gracie Fields

Lycra shorts?! Eeek! I may have blanked them out. I just remember the horrible orange and yellow thing Tamora was wearing ... it was very strange.

I like it as a play - I know it's blood an guts but I love Aaron thinking about his son and the way Titus is both a terrible dad and trying so hard to make things better for his daughter. It's not neat and glib but it isn't bad for it.

But each to his own.

ah.. but that's shakey isn't? naff play - really good bits...
ok - I take it back, there's a lot more soul to titus than tarantino.

and you did well to blank out the shorts... they must have spent all the budget on the set, the costumes were very, very bad.

Ahh, maybe it was my superficial nature side reacting against those then ....

I have never seen a good production of Macbeth - and I have seen A LOT of productions of Macbeth.

I hate MacBeth too. I just hate the play. In fact, though I may be an ex-Shxpr scholar (well 1st year undergraduate), I have never seen a production I've really enjoyed. I much prefer my Willy on the page.

I am also old enough to have seen Mark Rylance as Romeo.

OP-"Still, not as".....what?

Tis a haiku, diddl.

In my defence, I have been up since 4am.

I saw Mark Rylance as Cleopatra. I had a standing ticket. By the end of the evening I was ready to get up there and finish 'er off myself.

I saw the Sheffield Hamlet, last month. I thought it was very good, loved the set, enjoyed the acting - thought John Simm was excellent.

I agree the behaviour you describe would be annoying, but I've encountered badly behaved theatre audiences all over the country including in the capital (how poncey does that sound - I loved writing that sentence). And when I saw the Sheffield production the audience behaved beautifully and everyone had a good time.

Sorry diddl I was being 'funny' and failing I don't know what the OP meant there.

Oh just call be gullible

There aren´t enough syllables for a haiku are there?

Or am I now showing my ignorance as well?