# What Shakespearean plays (or plays from that era) would you have liked to see live? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 17, 2012, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-shakespearean-plays-or-plays-from-that-era-would-you-have-liked-to-see-live/638063 "2012-10-17T20:43:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2012, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-shakespearean-plays-or-plays-from-that-era-would-you-have-liked-to-see-live/638063/1 "2012-10-17T20:43:50Z")
For reasons that need not concern you, I find it needful to get into my Burroughs-Libby continua skipper and pop back in time a few hundred years to [del]engage in a spree of murder, robbery, warmongering, sedition, vandalism, and murder on the European mainland[/del] help feed and house destitute widows and orphans. During this mission I’ll be popping back and forth between time periods-- as early as 1592, as late as 1613. During my off hours I’ll be popping over to London to watch various plays by Bill Shakespeare and others. I hate travelling alone. Anybody want to hitch a ride? What do you want to see? ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2012, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-shakespearean-plays-or-plays-from-that-era-would-you-have-liked-to-see-live/638063/2 "2012-10-17T20:45:32Z")
_Hamlet vs Predator_ ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2012, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-shakespearean-plays-or-plays-from-that-era-would-you-have-liked-to-see-live/638063/3 "2012-10-17T20:47:38Z")
_Love’s Labours Won_. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2012, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-shakespearean-plays-or-plays-from-that-era-would-you-have-liked-to-see-live/638063/4 "2012-10-17T20:53:20Z")
Uh, we are talking about real plays, right? Midsummer Night’s Dream Much Ado about Nothing I’m sure there’s more but those two positively leapt into my mind. I love Midsummer’s Night so, so much. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2012, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-shakespearean-plays-or-plays-from-that-era-would-you-have-liked-to-see-live/638063/5 "2012-10-17T20:54:14Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > Uh, we are talking about real plays, right? **I** am certainly talking about real plays. And as everyone knows, HvP is not/was not/will not be written, much less performed, until 2118; that is what finally brings Cthulhu back. ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2012, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-shakespearean-plays-or-plays-from-that-era-would-you-have-liked-to-see-live/638063/6 "2012-10-17T21:10:23Z")
Any of them; whatever’s going. Marlowe, Shakespeare, Jonson, some guy I’ve never heard of… Would any of your [del]mayhem[/del] orphan-helping take you to France? I’d love to see some Molière or Racine, if that’s not too far out of your way and time… ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2012, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-shakespearean-plays-or-plays-from-that-era-would-you-have-liked-to-see-live/638063/7 "2012-10-17T21:14:01Z")
> [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](#): > > Any of them; whatever’s going. Marlowe, Shakespeare, Jonson, some guy I’ve never heard of… > > Would any of your [del]mayhem[/del] orphan-helping take you to France? I’d love to see some Molière or Racine, if that’s not too far out of your way and time… I may have reason to visit the court of that feckless wanker Henry IV, yes. You may not want to be around just then, though. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2012, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-shakespearean-plays-or-plays-from-that-era-would-you-have-liked-to-see-live/638063/8 "2012-10-17T21:21:00Z")
I’ll skip the Histories and the Lesser Works. _Corolianus_ would be boring whenever it was performed. But I’d like to see _Hamlet_, or _Lear_, or _Twelfth Night_, or… But definitely _Henry VIII_. I want to see the Globe **burn**. I’m twisted that way. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2012, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-shakespearean-plays-or-plays-from-that-era-would-you-have-liked-to-see-live/638063/9 "2012-10-17T21:25:15Z")
I’d like to see Hamlet and As You Like It just to see of the old stories were true that Shakespeare played the Ghost in the first and old Adam the servant in the second. ---
**Author:** ![eclectic\_wench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ac91a4/32.png) [@eclectic\_wench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eclectic_wench)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2012, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-shakespearean-plays-or-plays-from-that-era-would-you-have-liked-to-see-live/638063/10 "2012-10-17T21:35:07Z")
I wanna come!! How long have we got? Midsummer Night’s Dream and Twelfth Night because I love them so much, the Scottish play because I want to see if it’s true that there’s a scene missing from the version we’ve got, Love’s Labours Won because it’s not like I’m ever gonna see it any other way… And if we’re going to 1613, we should just about make The Duchess of Malfi. We’re going to miss 'Tis Pity She’s a Whore, though. ---
**Author:** ![Steken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@Steken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steken)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2012, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-shakespearean-plays-or-plays-from-that-era-would-you-have-liked-to-see-live/638063/11 "2012-10-17T21:47:56Z")
Oooooh, _The Revenger’s Tragedy_, definitely! And let’s throw in _The Spanish Tragedy_ too, while we’re at it! And, eh, well, I guess some Shakespeare, too, if there’s time. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Speak\_to\_me\_Maddie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/58956e/32.png) [@Speak\_to\_me\_Maddie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speak_to_me_Maddie)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2012, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-shakespearean-plays-or-plays-from-that-era-would-you-have-liked-to-see-live/638063/12 "2012-10-17T22:26:10Z")
I’m an English teacher, so all of them really. If I had to choose one it would be _King Henry IV, part 1_, with John Heminges as Falstaff. Though I’d like to see Burbage in action too. probably in _Hamlet._ ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2012, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-shakespearean-plays-or-plays-from-that-era-would-you-have-liked-to-see-live/638063/13 "2012-10-17T22:34:04Z")
_The Alchemist_ by Ben Johnson _the Twelfth Night_ ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2012, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-shakespearean-plays-or-plays-from-that-era-would-you-have-liked-to-see-live/638063/14 "2012-10-17T22:41:20Z")
> [@Speak\_to\_me\_Maddie](#): > > I’m an English teacher, so all of them really. > > If I had to choose one it would be _King Henry IV, part 1_, with John Heminges as Falstaff. Though I’d like to see Burbage in action too. probably in _Hamlet._ No reason to choose just one, but if I’m giving you a free ride to multiple destinations in space and time you had better bring me some sort of delectable yet low-carb pastry, or perhaps some hasenpfeffer. ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2012, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-shakespearean-plays-or-plays-from-that-era-would-you-have-liked-to-see-live/638063/15 "2012-10-17T23:15:00Z")
All of them, but if I had to pick: Shakespeare: _Measure for Measure_, because I want to know how the boy actor playing Isabella played her reaction to the Duke’s proposal. _The Merry Wives of Windsor_, because it’s so much fun, and because there are a lot of little things I want to know about for scholarly reasons (like whether Mistress Quickly’s big speech about Windsor Castle actually got played on the public stage). _Henry V_, also a lot of fun, and I _really_ want to see how the king reacts when he realizes he has to condemn Bardolph to death. Also, I want to see what they do with the choruses. _Hamlet_, because, HAMLET! How can you not? _Love’s Labor’s Won_ and _Cardenio_, for obvious reasons. Non-Shakespeare: _Dr. Faustus_, because anything involving trapdoors, demons, and fireworks would be awesome on general principle. _Edward IV, Parts One and Two_, because I wrote large chunks of my dissertation about it. _The Duchess of Malfi_, because it’s so, so good. ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2012, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-shakespearean-plays-or-plays-from-that-era-would-you-have-liked-to-see-live/638063/16 "2012-10-17T23:29:21Z")
_Richard II_, at the Globe, on the afternoon of Saturday 7 February 1601. And I’ll be watching the audience. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2012, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-shakespearean-plays-or-plays-from-that-era-would-you-have-liked-to-see-live/638063/17 "2012-10-18T00:26:33Z")
If it could be only one I’d like to see _Henry V_. I remember that episode of ST-TNG when Data was rehearing it. He explained to Captain Picard that he’d watch all the touchstone performances of the play, “Olivier, Branagh, Kulnark, Shapiro” If there was time for more, I’d love to see comedy. _Twelfth Night_, _Measure for Measure_(my favorite), _Much Ado About Nothing_. Or just about anything. Except I don’t think I’d like _Titus Andronicus_. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2012, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-shakespearean-plays-or-plays-from-that-era-would-you-have-liked-to-see-live/638063/18 "2012-10-18T15:00:09Z")
> [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](#): > > Any of them; whatever’s going. … I’ll change my answer to this. I don’t care, just let me see them! But I wonder if they might not be terrible, with people throwing things and farting and blowing their noses…can we get a balcony seat? ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2012, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-shakespearean-plays-or-plays-from-that-era-would-you-have-liked-to-see-live/638063/19 "2012-10-18T15:21:24Z")
I’d wanna see _Henry V_, because it’s always been a favorite of mine, or _A Midsummer Night’s Dream_, because I was in it (as Oberon) in high school. I still remember my first line: “Ill met by moonlight, proud Titania.” One of the best Shakespeare productions I’ve ever seen was a college performance of _Macbeth_, done in Japanese kabuki costuming, makeup and sets, with women playing the male roles and vice versa. Freaky but actually quite good. > [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > **I** am certainly talking about real plays. And as everyone knows, HvP is not/was not/will not be written, much less performed, until 2118; that is what finally brings Cthulhu back. Note to self: Be somewhere else in 2118. ---
**Author:** ![Steken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@Steken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steken)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2012, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-shakespearean-plays-or-plays-from-that-era-would-you-have-liked-to-see-live/638063/20 "2012-10-18T15:32:22Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > But I wonder if they might not be terrible, with people throwing things and farting and blowing their noses… Oh, just wait 'til you see what the _audience_ is up to. They’re even worse! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-shakespearean-plays-or-plays-from-that-era-would-you-have-liked-to-see-live/638063.md?page=2)