62. Shakespeare

Shakespeare is good on the page but it was written to be played. Of course many an adaptation sends you back to hide within the text where the actors in your head don't mug the jokes or proclaim heartfelt sentiments at full volume like someone shouting across a busy railway platform, but, when Shakespeare is performed well it can add levels of depth to your understanding of the play or make you look at it in a new way.

Number 62. then is to see five of my favourite Shakespeare plays performed, and performed well. A bad version will not a tick make.

King Richard II: My favourite of the histories and also my favourite of all of Shakespeare's plays. Love those words.

A Midsummer Night's Dream: I thought I would go for a mix of genre and this is by far my favourite of the comedies. The setting of the play elevates it above the level of the normal "king has two daughters with hilarious consequences" plays and also gives a more forgivable excuse for the inevitable coincidences and confusions of identity that litter these things.

Hamlet: An obvious choice but there is no arguing with this plays position as the greatest ever. Is there?

King Lear: A second tragedy and perhaps the one that some would argue betters Hamlet. It doesn't, but it is damn good.

Timon of Athens: I thought I would pick one of the more 'problematic' of Shakespeare's plays. Those that are beset with controversies of authorship or are not seen as being 'up to scratch' with the rest of the work. I like Timon of Athens though, I like it a lot. It may of course take a bit more effort to find a performance but that is all part of the fun.