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While we all studied Shakespeare in high school, many students don’t go on to experience The Bard much afterward. This may be because Shakespeare is thought to be boring or overdone. Yet there are so many exciting productions out there that prove otherwise.
If quarantine has inspired you to give Shakespeare another try, here is a list of five productions to get you started! Each of these shows revitalizes Shakespeare for modern-day viewers and makes The Bard’s words come to life in the best way possible. While some take a more abstract approach to his works and others go a more classic route, each of the following filmed performances of Shakespearean plays will expand your horizons during quarantine while also allowing you to experience The Bard in a whole new way.
National Theatre Live’s Twelfth Night
National Theatre Live’s 2017 production of Twelfth Night presents a whole new version of one of Shakespeare’s most popular comedies. Despite the story normally being centered on the love triangle between Viola (a woman disguised as a manservant), Orsino, (Viola’s master), and Olivia (a grieving manservant), these characters become the B plot in this production.
Instead, Malvolio, or in this version of Twelfth Night Malvolia as the character’s gender has been flipped, takes center stage as the audience’s attention is instead drawn to the story of Olivia’s servant and the cruelty that is inflicted upon her. Malvolia is Olivia’s right-hand woman, who has unfortunately gained the hatred of the rest of her household due to her strict ways.
National Theatre Live’s Twelfth Night extenuates how comedy and cruelty can exist hand in hand when a simple jest to embarrass Malvolia turns into an act of brutality as Malvolia is kidnapped and tricked into thinking that she has gone mad. A play that is typically a love story is now filled with suspense and drama. The comedy remains, but there comes a point when viewers wonder whether or not they should be laughing.
Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night becomes reinvented with this change, and along with a set sustained upon a revolving table, this production makes Twelfth Night almost unrecognizable from the one you studied in high school.
Twelfth Night is being offered on YouTube periodically through National Theatre Live’s National Theatre At Home project.
National Theatre Live’s A Midsummer’s Night Dream
National Theatre Live’s A Midsummer’s Night Dream is not like any other show you’ve seen before. Watching this production will truly make viewers feel as if they have been given a sneak peek into a dream. The show’s set is entirely unique and hard to compare to past productions of this play. Rather than having a straightforward set, the production is immersive with platforms that rise and descend in the middle of a crowd of audience members, beds that are suspended in the air, and aerial silks hanging from the ceiling that actors perform acrobatics with to mimic flying.
This approach to the show is extremely abstract while capturing in the best way possible the magic that lies at the heart of A Midsummer’s Night Dream. Beyond the set, this production is a great re-introduction to one of Shakespeare’s classics due to reversal of gender dynamics.
The plot of the show hinges on two characters, Titania (Queen of the Fairies), and Oberon (King of the Fairies). In a typical reading of the show, Titania is tricked by Oberon into falling in love with a donkey as an act of punishment for protecting a child from Oberon’s greed. In this production, however, Titania and Oberon’s lines are switched and Titania becomes the puppet-master of the play’s events. This simple change creates a whole new show out of a centuries-old play and allows viewers to see one of the many different ways The Bard can be completely re-interpreted.
A Midsummer’s Night Dream is being offered on YouTube periodically through National Theatre Live’s National Theatre At Home project.
Stratford Festival On Film’s Love Labour’s Lost
Stratford Festival On Film’s Love Labour’s Lost takes a classic approach to a Shakespearean play, with Elizabethan Era costumes and set pieces. Yet, this production is still worth watching as it brings one of Shakespeare’s lesser-known works to modern audiences. While we all know and love what is thought to be the show’s companion play, Much Ado About Nothing, Love Labour’s Lost is not as prevalent in today’s canon. This is what makes Stratford Festival’s production so special.
This production presents the forgotten play in full force. It is hard to ignore the show’s brilliant writing with top tier acting and electric chemistry between actors. If there is one obscure Shakespearean play to watch during quarantine, Love Labour’s Lost is the one to go to. With five different love stories to choose from, it is easy to become wrapped up in at least one as men and women engage in a battle of wits that ultimately has one winner: love.
Overall, this production allows you to experience Shakespearean plays that aren’t as mainstream and is the first step to expanding your horizons outside of plays introduced in Common Core education.
Love Labour’s Lost is currently available on Stratford Festival on Film’s YouTube channel.
The Royal Shakespeare Company’s Hamlet
If you never really enjoyed Hamlet in high school, The Royal Shakespeare Company’s Hamlet will change that. With David Tennant starring as Hamlet and Patrick Stewart stepping into the role of Claudius, the amount of talent in this production is nearly impossible to ignore. Set in an in-closed mansion in the modern era, The Royal Shakespeare Company’s Hamlet presents a high-energy version of Shakespeare’s greatest work where the stakes feel higher than ever thanks to the actors’ amazing job at portraying the family’s descent into ruin.
Part of what keeps students from enjoying Hamlet is the fact that it is one of Shakespeare’s longest plays, and the endless soliloquies can become tedious. However, when watching this production you are forever on the edge of your seat as David Tennant gives the performance of a lifetime. With every monologue Tennant reveals a little bit more of Hamlet’s deteriorating mental state, to the point where you are holding your breath in his final moments. Shakespeare’s words truly come alive in this production, and by the end credits viewers will have a newfound love for Hamlet.
Hamlet is currently available on Amazon.
Wyndham Theatre’s Much Ado About Nothing
A misconception of Shakespearean plays is that they are all serious and dramatic. Wyndham Theatre’s Much Ado About Nothing is neither of those things. Originally filmed in 2011, Wyndham Theatre demonstrates that watching Shakespeare can be truly delightful thanks to its modern setting and stellar cast. When Much Ado About Nothing is set in the modern era, and in this case on an island reminiscent of Mamma Mia, the play immediately lends itself to more comedy. The second the show lands in the 21st century, characters can walk around with hangovers, Benedict can deliver a monologue with over-sized sunglasses, and viewers can have a good laugh.
Laughter was further prompted by Catherine Tate as Beatrice and David Tennant as her love interest Benedict. The play contains both slapstick comedy and clever quips sure to get a laugh. Examples of slapstick include Tate getting stuck on a pulley cord while eavesdropping on her friends, and Tennant spilling paint over himself when attempting the same thing. When the two engage in witty dialogue, their comedic timing with one another helps jokes land despite being told in the Elizabethan language. Wyndham Theatre’s Much Ado About Nothing is an ideal example of how Shakespearean plays can continue to be comedic even today.
Much Ado About Nothing is currently available on Digital Theatre.
Music, Play On!
Next time you are bored in quarantine, consider turning on one of these plays. They can be found through Youtube, Amazon, and sites such as Marquee TV, and Digital Theatre. By the time life has returned to normal you will have a greater knowledge of Shakespeare in addition to newfound appreciation for his works. His plays will no longer be a chore, instead they will be, as they were first intended, entertainment. When theaters are performing live shows once again, you may just find yourself sitting front row at King Lear, Macbeth, or more.
