# What was the first Shakespeare you ever saw? - A thread in celebration of World Theatre Day! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 26, 2010, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-shakespeare-you-ever-saw-a-thread-in-celebration-of-world-theatre-day/533843 "2010-03-26T03:52:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Icerigger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icerigger/32/432_2.png) [@Icerigger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icerigger)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-shakespeare-you-ever-saw-a-thread-in-celebration-of-world-theatre-day/533843/21 "2010-03-26T16:14:47Z")
The Hamlet Musical. "Neither a borrower nor a lender be, do not forget stay out of debt. Think twice and take this good advice from me, guard that old solvency. There’s just one other thing you have to do, to thy own self be true. 😉 😉 ---
**Author:** ![TV\_time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f17d59/32.png) [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-shakespeare-you-ever-saw-a-thread-in-celebration-of-world-theatre-day/533843/22 "2010-03-26T16:56:16Z")
As a film Romeo and Juliet, but as a play, a local girl in my home town had gone away to college about 60 miles away and her freshman year she had the Portia role in Merchant of Venice. Our high school speech teacher loaded all of his theater students in a bus and took us to it. I was dreading it, but I was really impressed. The thing really worked. I really understood Shylock and the whole situation. I really became a fan of the Bard. ---
**Author:** ![kelly5078](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6f9a4e/32.png) [@kelly5078](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kelly5078)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-shakespeare-you-ever-saw-a-thread-in-celebration-of-world-theatre-day/533843/23 "2010-03-26T17:18:55Z")
Olivier’s “Hamlet.” But I was just a kid, and just thought it was about the most incomprehensible and boring way to get to a sword fight I’d ever seen. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-shakespeare-you-ever-saw-a-thread-in-celebration-of-world-theatre-day/533843/24 "2010-03-26T17:37:11Z")
> [@Icerigger](#): > > The Hamlet Musical. > > "Neither a borrower nor a lender be, do not forget stay out of debt. Think twice and take this good advice from me, guard that old solvency. There’s just one other thing you have to do, to thy own self be true. > 😉 😉 Ah, the classic Harold Hecuba production! My first exposure to the music of Bizet and Offenbach (except for the “Can Can,” which was in various cartoons). 😛 ---
**Author:** ![overlyverbose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9dc877/32.png) [@overlyverbose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/overlyverbose)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-shakespeare-you-ever-saw-a-thread-in-celebration-of-world-theatre-day/533843/25 "2010-03-26T17:52:36Z")
The first Shakespeare I ever saw _live_ was in Santiago, Chile. It was in 1997 during their Theater Festival and Nunoa. I didn’t know Spanish nearly as well as I thought I did and here was Shakespeare (transated from a form of English I’m not all that familiar with, either) being performed in Spanish (definitely NOT conversational Spanish). I’d been in the country a week. I believe it was _A Midsummer Night’s Dream_, but I was confused as hell. As I recall, I spent most of the performance pretending to hava clue what was going on and laughing politely whenever the crowd did. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-shakespeare-you-ever-saw-a-thread-in-celebration-of-world-theatre-day/533843/26 "2010-03-26T17:59:28Z")
> [@](#): > > What was the first play of Shakespeare’s that you ever saw, and how did it affect you? To the best of my memory, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a live performance of Shakespeare. I do remember seeing televised performances such as the BBC productions back in the seventies, where they performed all of Shakespeare’s plays. As I recall, they did _Julius Caesar_ first. > [@](#): > > Or, barring that, what was the first piece of theatre you ever saw? The first play I recall seeing performed live was _The Wiz_ on broadway. This would have been back around 1975. > [@](#): > > Or, what was the most recent piece of theatre you saw? The most recent live play I saw was _M_A_S_H\*. It was a local production and a friend of mine was playing Col Blake. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-shakespeare-you-ever-saw-a-thread-in-celebration-of-world-theatre-day/533843/27 "2010-03-26T18:01:46Z")
The first whole Shakespeare play I saw whole was the Zeferelli/ Whiting/Hussey movie of _Romeo and Juliet_. It remains my favorite performance of the play, if only because they used actual teenagers to play the title roles. Before that I hated Shakespeare, or at least found it boring, because of the way it was taught in high school. We never saw a performance, never even read acts out loud. I figured it was “classic” because it was old. The I saw R&J, but it still didn’t change my attitude, because I figured that was the exception to the rule. Then I was housesitting for my grandmother and watched \*“Measure for Measure” \*on TV, a BBC production. I didn’t know Shakespeare could be funny! And crude! And sexy! After that I started reading the plays, and renting them on video. _Henry V_ may be the finest play ever written. I just barely prefer the Branagh version to the Olivier, although I’d go on my back in a minute for the latter. ---
**Author:** ![Labdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/439d5e/32.png) [@Labdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labdad)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-shakespeare-you-ever-saw-a-thread-in-celebration-of-world-theatre-day/533843/28 "2010-03-26T18:49:31Z")
When I was in the 10th grade, so 1967, I guess it was, I saw Laurence Olivier’s 1946 film version of _Henry V_ at a local art movie house. It was stunning! The first live theater I ever saw was, I believe, in December 1968. It was Theater Atlanta’s production of the amazing [_MacBird!_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MacBird) The first live production of Shakespeare I ever saw was a Royal Shakespeare Company production of _Julius Caesar_ at the Royal Shakespeare Theater at Stratford-upon-Avon in 1972. It was as excellent as you might expect. The most recent live theater I’ve seen was in February: a production by a local theater, Actor’s Express, of Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa’s [_Good Boys and True_](http://www.atlantaintownpaper.com/2010/01/theatre-review-goody-boys-true/). Very powerful play. ---
**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:** [March 26, 2010, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-shakespeare-you-ever-saw-a-thread-in-celebration-of-world-theatre-day/533843/29 "2010-03-26T19:06:11Z")
Well, in third grade we got to see the sixth-graders perform _Romeo and Juliet_, _The Tempest_, and _Twelfth Night_, but those were pretty heavily adapted and about thirty minutes long, so I’m not sure they count. I think my first “real” Shakespeare show was a free Shakespeare-in-the-street production of _Twelfth Night_, when I was about eleven or so? (I enjoyed it, but I’m not sure my seven-year-old brother did.) That may have been my first professional theater experience, as well, although my parents had been taking me to community theater about as far back as I can remember. ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-shakespeare-you-ever-saw-a-thread-in-celebration-of-world-theatre-day/533843/30 "2010-03-26T19:07:53Z")
Hoo, boy, that’s going back a ways. Probably Zefferelli’s _Romeo and Juliet_. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-shakespeare-you-ever-saw-a-thread-in-celebration-of-world-theatre-day/533843/31 "2010-03-26T19:50:44Z")
The first live Shakespeare performance I ever saw was _ **Richard II** _, an off-Broadway production that I went to with one of my senior English classes in high school. That’s not one of Shakespeare’s better known plays, nor is it performed all that often. On the whole, it was very well done- even though I ended up hating Bolingbroke (the future Henry IV), which I’m pretty sure Shakespeare didn’t want me to do. ---
**Author:** ![Wargamer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/df705f/32.png) [@Wargamer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wargamer)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-shakespeare-you-ever-saw-a-thread-in-celebration-of-world-theatre-day/533843/32 "2010-03-26T20:09:02Z")
In the late 70’s my parents took my sister and me to see the North Carolina Shakespeare Festival’s version of _Hamlet_. I can still remember the lead, after a VERY athletic duel with Laertes lying on the stage with his chest rapidly rising and falling due to his exertions after his ‘death.’ Despite that, I was surprised at how non-bored I was with the play (not bad considering I was 10 or 11 at the time.) ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-shakespeare-you-ever-saw-a-thread-in-celebration-of-world-theatre-day/533843/33 "2010-03-26T22:25:42Z")
Two Gentlemen of Verona, in Regina, put on by a travelling troupe from the Stratford (Ontario) Festival; probably around 1975-76. I’d read Julius Caesar and loved it so much I started ordering more Shakespeare plays from Longmans, which was the publisher that the Saskatchewan school system used (funky coloured covers with a great big “S” on the front). Then a poster appeared on the bulletin board at the school, that Stratford was coming to Regina! Asked my parents if we could go, and they agreed! Off we went, and I fell down the rabbit-hole. Have been reading the plays and the sonnets ever since, and catching any production I can. I’ve been to Stratford (Ontario) several times, the Folger, the Globe (reconstruction), Yale Drama - if I see it’s on, I’m there. Not too long ago, I got a lovely facsimile of the [First Folio from the Folio Society](http://www.foliosociety.com/book/NSH/first-folio-of-shakespeare), as discussed in a previous thread. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-shakespeare-you-ever-saw-a-thread-in-celebration-of-world-theatre-day/533843/34 "2010-03-26T22:27:41Z")
Coming back to get the rest of the OP: the first Broadway show I ever saw was _Tommy_. I’ve never been a huge fan of the The Who, but I’ve remained a steady theatergoer. In the last month or two we’ve seen a lot of Shakespeare - Measure for Measure, The Tempest, and As You Like It, and next weekend we’re seeing Love is My Sin, which is an adaptation of Shakespeare’s sonnets, I think. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2010, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-shakespeare-you-ever-saw-a-thread-in-celebration-of-world-theatre-day/533843/35 "2010-03-27T03:19:42Z")
The first Shakespeare I remember seeing was Olivier’s _Hamlet_ on TV, in the early 60s when I was around 12. I read _Julius Caesar_ before that and was fascinated with it, so I may have seen either some TV production or possibly just a repeat of that episode of [You Are There](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0751912/). The only live Shakespeare I’ve seen has been good college productions. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2010, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-shakespeare-you-ever-saw-a-thread-in-celebration-of-world-theatre-day/533843/36 "2010-03-29T02:26:44Z")
The first Shakespeare (live or movie) I ever saw was a free outdoor performance of _The Tempest_ when I was just a little kid (no more than 8, tops). Between my age and our back-of-the-crowd seats, I couldn’t really understand anything that was going on, but I was very impressed by the special effects. I’ve since read and seen it other times, and it’s now my favorite play. Then, in high school starting in 10th grade, we studied several other plays, and saw film adaptations of a few (though I don’t remember specifically which ones). At one point, there was a field trip to see a ballet adaptation of _A Midsummer Night’s Dream_. My next exposure to live Shakespeare was in undergrad, when the Shakespeare class I was in went to see an outdoor performance of the Scottish play (as well as film adaptations of several more). And for the past ten years, I’ve seen 2-3 plays a year put on by Montana’s Shakespeare in the Parks troupe. ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2010, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-shakespeare-you-ever-saw-a-thread-in-celebration-of-world-theatre-day/533843/37 "2010-03-29T02:41:12Z")
That I can recall? _MacBeth_, school trip. ---
**Author:** ![eenerms](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cdc98d/32.png) [@eenerms](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eenerms)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2010, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-shakespeare-you-ever-saw-a-thread-in-celebration-of-world-theatre-day/533843/38 "2010-03-29T05:16:43Z")
Some college kids came to a small town in Nebraska, I think they were college chums of the English teacher, they put on one act of Romero and Juliet. 1971 I believe. (8th grade) ---
**Author:** ![thirdwarning](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecccb3/32.png) [@thirdwarning](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdwarning)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2010, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-shakespeare-you-ever-saw-a-thread-in-celebration-of-world-theatre-day/533843/39 "2010-03-29T06:05:22Z")
A couple weeks from now will be my first experience with a professional theater performance of any Shakespeare play. We’re going to see _The Taming of the Shrew_ as a field trip for my Intro to Shakespeare class. My non-professional experience of Shakespeare has been widely varied and a bit strange, but mostly fun, starting with a rewrite of _Julius Caesar_ when I was in 6th grade. I was on the committee re-doing the play in modern language. Twelve-year-olds! What was he thinking? Three years later my little brother’s class did _A Comedy of Errors_ the same way. When my older daughter was in high school we got treated to two interesting productions staged by one of her teachers. _A Midsummer Night’s Dream_, done in flower child style. (At least he left the language intact for that one.) And _The Taming of the Shrew_, set in Texas in the '40s. And no, he didn’t leave the language alone. I did see Zeffirelli’s _Romeo and Juliet_ when it came out, also the Polanski _MacBeth_. I still remember them, and it’s been a while. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2010, 9:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-shakespeare-you-ever-saw-a-thread-in-celebration-of-world-theatre-day/533843/40 "2010-03-29T09:46:43Z")
I might have seen some on video before, but I’d say the first live theater production was The Comedy of Errors. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-shakespeare-you-ever-saw-a-thread-in-celebration-of-world-theatre-day/533843.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-shakespeare-you-ever-saw-a-thread-in-celebration-of-world-theatre-day/533843.md?page=3)