thedeadparrot (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
thedeadparrot) wrote2019-08-05 05:53 am
thedeadparrot) wrote2019-08-05 05:53 am
Entry tags:
shakespearrrrrrrre
I have always had a fondness for Shakespeare, and every so often I go back and try to consume more interpretations of his work. I got into a converstaion about this with hermionesviolin recently, a tangent off of how Good Omens fandom embraces its nerdery for all sorts of things including Shakespeare.
The thing I love most about Shakespeare is how much people love Shakespeare. They pour so much love and weirdness and passion into their interpretations of his work that it's hard not to fall a little in love with his words, too.
Anyway, there was a meme going around about which Shakespeare you'd seen, and I thought it was a good way to organize my thoughts. Mostly to talk about my feelings rather than the productions themselves. I feel a great deal of imposter syndrome sometimes about how little I've seen, but now I'm realizing that I've seen more than I think and that who cares? This is about loving a thing. Things can be loved in many different ways.
Hamlet - I am doing a RE-EVALUATION of my feelings about both this one and Romeo and Juliet. It's easy to dismiss it as overrated, and some of it gets a little too much, but I have been falling a little bit in love with the big soliloquies all over again, even if they've been done to death and parodied everywhere, including Good Omens. Studied it in school and generally liked it then. I have seen the Ethan Hawke version, which I have very little memory of, and the David Tennant version, which I liked a lot, and the Lion King. There are probably versions I'm forgetting right now, because it's just so big and so done, it just creeps into your everyday life, like Star Wars. The recent one that the RSC did with a mostly black cast is on my list! I want to see it.
Romeo and Juliet - It's easy to dismiss this when people keep heralding it as one of the great love stories of all time, but I think I'm better at approaching it now with adult eyes and less cultural baggage. Now I see it as a quiet heartbreaking story of two kids who fall in love but whose institutions fail them in the most awful way. Have seen the Baz Luhrmann version and probably another one somewhere, but the most recent one was a student production called Romeo and Juliet and Benny and the Jets. Yes, they did use Elton John to sing their feelings. There was a Greek Chorus of a slide show projected above them which made snarky commentary and occasional references to having to complete problem sets and go to section, which made me feel old, but that's okay!
Macbeth - one of my first of Shakespeare's plays and therefore holds a fond place in my heart. The fun wordplay of the prophesies. Out damned spot! The satisfying ending where Macbeth gets his comeuppance. When we studied it, there was a deeply mediocre stage production on video that we watched half of and then switched to a better production. Other productions I have seen: a recent public one outdoors that experienced many technical difficulties, the filmed version with Patrick Stewart, which I adored. I think I watched his "Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow" speech many times because I loved it so much.
Much Ado About Nothing - also one of my first and probably my fav comedy. I think I was a little too young to fully appreciate some of it, but I did get the chance to enjoy the back and forth and screwball romcom aspects of it. Saw Kenneth Branagh's version of it, which I thought was fine. I liked Emma Thompson's Beatrice. Definitely a bigger fan of the David Tennant/Catherine Tate version of it that goes full slapstick with the whole thing, which is my preferred interpretation. Have not seen Joss Whedon's version;stultiloquentia tells me to avoid it.
Winter's Tale - saw a free outdoor production in a local park. It switched locations between acts, which made sense due to the intense tone switch, and it made use of the structural elements of the park, which is one of my fav things in outdoor productions. The bear was a big hit. I am sure it always is.
As You Like It - a (high school!) student production outdoors. It was fun. It was cute. It was also super queer in a way that was definitely deliberate. Ah, the children are our future. I would like to see a high production-value pro performance of it at some point, but it's not urgent.
Midsummer's Night Dream - To quote myself, I enjoy watching people take this play and somehow make it hornier. (ETA'd sidebar: is this an earlier iteration of the 'sex pollen' trope? discuss.) I have read it and seen the movie version and a filmed version of Julie Taymor's production. The movie version made no strong impression on me, but Taymor's production was fantastic. I loved the stagecraft of it. The Puck was amazing, and I really enjoyed the take of Bottom as a New York wiseguy. The donkey's head had movable mouth and eyelids, which was really impressive. I feel like the Athenian lovers are always so dull. I'm sure there's got to be a version out there that makes them fun instead of tedious.
Tempest - baby's first Shakespeare, semi-literally. We did a much abridged version of it in elementary school, which was a lot of fun. I want to see it again with adult eyes. I feel like maybe I watched a filmed version, but I can't remember it in any detail whatsoever. Am planning on seeing Helen Mirren's version.
Twelfth Night - read it but have never seen it, which I know is a shame, and I would love love to see a good production of it.
Richard II - just got around to seeing The Hollow Crown version of it, which is very impressive. It was my first real exposure to it, but I can see why it's a Shakespeare hipster favorite! I loved loved Patrick Stewart being given the Sceptered Isle speech, which is nationalistic nonsense, but which is beautiful nationalistic nonsense, much in the same way the Gettysburg Address is. Ben Wishaw's has an odd ethereal quality to it that could only work while being filmed. I have the lines "For God's sake, let us sit upon the ground / And tell sad stories of the death of kings" playing over and over in my head right now. I haven't seen David Tennant's version in full, but I fast forwarded to the part where he gives that speech. It's different on stage, unsurprisingly. I'm still processing how I feel about that.
Richard III - saw Ian McKellan's version, though most of it has leaked from my memory. I think that version was very unsubtle and bombastic about fascism.
Henry V - I feel like I must have seen Branagh's version, but I have no memory of it at all except the St. Crispin's Day speech, which is most of what people remember about Henry V, tbh.
Othello - I have read it, but I don't think I've seen it, with the exception of the basketball one from the 2000s, which I don't think used Shakespeare's language at all. I do want to watch a good version of it, though.
Julius Caesar - studied it in class. Don't think I've seen it performed. I got to read Mark Antony's post-murder speech in class, which is probably my favorite part of that play. "The evil that men do lives after them; / The good is oft interred with their bones;"
King Lear - studied it in class and liked it! I think maybe we watched a filmed version which I also think I liked. I was all excited to watch the Shakespeare on the Common version, but then I fell asleep because everyone was annoying and it was late. I only woke up so that I could watch everyone murder each other.
Coriolanus - started seeing a the big Shakespeare on the Common version, but got tired and bored halfway through. I keep meaning to go back and watch a better version of it. It was definitely Occupy-tinged, but the Coriolanus was so whiny, which I'm pretty sure was a deliberate choice. Still, unpleasant.
Bonus Round:
Slings and Arrows - I enjoy all of the show, but those moments where we get to see the productions are just pure magic. I feel cheated every time that we don't get to see the full thing.
I noticed that this list is 90% filmed versions and free outdoor productions of Shakespeare. I think I subscribe tostultiloquentia's philosophy of: lovingly made amateur Shakespeare of dubious quality or really really high quality Shakespeare or GTFO. Mediocre Shakespeare is the worst.
ETA: One of my fav conspiracy theories to see debunked is the idea that Shakespeare didn't write Shakespeare. It has some ugly implications wrt classicism, but it's overall relatively harmless and funny to see Shakespeare scholars flip their shit over.
hermionesviolin recently, a tangent off of how Good Omens fandom embraces its nerdery for all sorts of things including Shakespeare.The thing I love most about Shakespeare is how much people love Shakespeare. They pour so much love and weirdness and passion into their interpretations of his work that it's hard not to fall a little in love with his words, too.
Anyway, there was a meme going around about which Shakespeare you'd seen, and I thought it was a good way to organize my thoughts. Mostly to talk about my feelings rather than the productions themselves. I feel a great deal of imposter syndrome sometimes about how little I've seen, but now I'm realizing that I've seen more than I think and that who cares? This is about loving a thing. Things can be loved in many different ways.
Hamlet - I am doing a RE-EVALUATION of my feelings about both this one and Romeo and Juliet. It's easy to dismiss it as overrated, and some of it gets a little too much, but I have been falling a little bit in love with the big soliloquies all over again, even if they've been done to death and parodied everywhere, including Good Omens. Studied it in school and generally liked it then. I have seen the Ethan Hawke version, which I have very little memory of, and the David Tennant version, which I liked a lot, and the Lion King. There are probably versions I'm forgetting right now, because it's just so big and so done, it just creeps into your everyday life, like Star Wars. The recent one that the RSC did with a mostly black cast is on my list! I want to see it.
Romeo and Juliet - It's easy to dismiss this when people keep heralding it as one of the great love stories of all time, but I think I'm better at approaching it now with adult eyes and less cultural baggage. Now I see it as a quiet heartbreaking story of two kids who fall in love but whose institutions fail them in the most awful way. Have seen the Baz Luhrmann version and probably another one somewhere, but the most recent one was a student production called Romeo and Juliet and Benny and the Jets. Yes, they did use Elton John to sing their feelings. There was a Greek Chorus of a slide show projected above them which made snarky commentary and occasional references to having to complete problem sets and go to section, which made me feel old, but that's okay!
Macbeth - one of my first of Shakespeare's plays and therefore holds a fond place in my heart. The fun wordplay of the prophesies. Out damned spot! The satisfying ending where Macbeth gets his comeuppance. When we studied it, there was a deeply mediocre stage production on video that we watched half of and then switched to a better production. Other productions I have seen: a recent public one outdoors that experienced many technical difficulties, the filmed version with Patrick Stewart, which I adored. I think I watched his "Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow" speech many times because I loved it so much.
Much Ado About Nothing - also one of my first and probably my fav comedy. I think I was a little too young to fully appreciate some of it, but I did get the chance to enjoy the back and forth and screwball romcom aspects of it. Saw Kenneth Branagh's version of it, which I thought was fine. I liked Emma Thompson's Beatrice. Definitely a bigger fan of the David Tennant/Catherine Tate version of it that goes full slapstick with the whole thing, which is my preferred interpretation. Have not seen Joss Whedon's version;
stultiloquentia tells me to avoid it.Winter's Tale - saw a free outdoor production in a local park. It switched locations between acts, which made sense due to the intense tone switch, and it made use of the structural elements of the park, which is one of my fav things in outdoor productions. The bear was a big hit. I am sure it always is.
As You Like It - a (high school!) student production outdoors. It was fun. It was cute. It was also super queer in a way that was definitely deliberate. Ah, the children are our future. I would like to see a high production-value pro performance of it at some point, but it's not urgent.
Midsummer's Night Dream - To quote myself, I enjoy watching people take this play and somehow make it hornier. (ETA'd sidebar: is this an earlier iteration of the 'sex pollen' trope? discuss.) I have read it and seen the movie version and a filmed version of Julie Taymor's production. The movie version made no strong impression on me, but Taymor's production was fantastic. I loved the stagecraft of it. The Puck was amazing, and I really enjoyed the take of Bottom as a New York wiseguy. The donkey's head had movable mouth and eyelids, which was really impressive. I feel like the Athenian lovers are always so dull. I'm sure there's got to be a version out there that makes them fun instead of tedious.
Tempest - baby's first Shakespeare, semi-literally. We did a much abridged version of it in elementary school, which was a lot of fun. I want to see it again with adult eyes. I feel like maybe I watched a filmed version, but I can't remember it in any detail whatsoever. Am planning on seeing Helen Mirren's version.
Twelfth Night - read it but have never seen it, which I know is a shame, and I would love love to see a good production of it.
Richard II - just got around to seeing The Hollow Crown version of it, which is very impressive. It was my first real exposure to it, but I can see why it's a Shakespeare hipster favorite! I loved loved Patrick Stewart being given the Sceptered Isle speech, which is nationalistic nonsense, but which is beautiful nationalistic nonsense, much in the same way the Gettysburg Address is. Ben Wishaw's has an odd ethereal quality to it that could only work while being filmed. I have the lines "For God's sake, let us sit upon the ground / And tell sad stories of the death of kings" playing over and over in my head right now. I haven't seen David Tennant's version in full, but I fast forwarded to the part where he gives that speech. It's different on stage, unsurprisingly. I'm still processing how I feel about that.
Richard III - saw Ian McKellan's version, though most of it has leaked from my memory. I think that version was very unsubtle and bombastic about fascism.
Henry V - I feel like I must have seen Branagh's version, but I have no memory of it at all except the St. Crispin's Day speech, which is most of what people remember about Henry V, tbh.
Othello - I have read it, but I don't think I've seen it, with the exception of the basketball one from the 2000s, which I don't think used Shakespeare's language at all. I do want to watch a good version of it, though.
Julius Caesar - studied it in class. Don't think I've seen it performed. I got to read Mark Antony's post-murder speech in class, which is probably my favorite part of that play. "The evil that men do lives after them; / The good is oft interred with their bones;"
King Lear - studied it in class and liked it! I think maybe we watched a filmed version which I also think I liked. I was all excited to watch the Shakespeare on the Common version, but then I fell asleep because everyone was annoying and it was late. I only woke up so that I could watch everyone murder each other.
Coriolanus - started seeing a the big Shakespeare on the Common version, but got tired and bored halfway through. I keep meaning to go back and watch a better version of it. It was definitely Occupy-tinged, but the Coriolanus was so whiny, which I'm pretty sure was a deliberate choice. Still, unpleasant.
Bonus Round:
Slings and Arrows - I enjoy all of the show, but those moments where we get to see the productions are just pure magic. I feel cheated every time that we don't get to see the full thing.
I noticed that this list is 90% filmed versions and free outdoor productions of Shakespeare. I think I subscribe to
stultiloquentia's philosophy of: lovingly made amateur Shakespeare of dubious quality or really really high quality Shakespeare or GTFO. Mediocre Shakespeare is the worst.ETA: One of my fav conspiracy theories to see debunked is the idea that Shakespeare didn't write Shakespeare. It has some ugly implications wrt classicism, but it's overall relatively harmless and funny to see Shakespeare scholars flip their shit over.
no subject
I agree with so much of this, especially what you've said at the end. *high five!*
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And I'm glad to hear it rang true for you!
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And I really enjoyed reading this. :D For Coriolanus -- I know there were two recent productions, a movie by Ralph Fiennes which I loved and a filmed stage producton starring Tom Hiddleston aka Cheekbones McGee. Both are slashtastic.
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On the strength of your rec, I picked up the Ralph Fiennes version from the library! I had a vague idea of trying it but that outdoor production left a bad taste in my mouth. I am happy to give it another shot while I'm down this rabbit hole.
no subject
Also, fun discussons:
https://rydra-wong.dreamwidth.org/706565.html
no subject
Twelfth Night: Hold UP, the 1996 Trevor Nunn film is maybe my favourite Shakespeare movie ever, so we have to put that on the watch list. BEN KINGSLEY IS FESTE and he's a goddamned revelation.
Richarrrrrrrrd: Absolutely my hipster fav. I used "For God's sake, let us sit upon the ground" in a Stargate fic once. It was deep. :P
no subject
I will put that on the list for Twelfth Night! The library had an all-male Globe production with Stephen Fry and Mark Rylance in it, so I have that on my slate after Ralph Fiennes' Coriolanus.
There are so many Richard IIs that I need to watch now! I do want to see all of Tennant's while I have Good Omens feelings, and there's one with Fiona Shaw on Amazon Prime?