see all of Shakespeare's plays

I need 13 more plays:
Cymbeline
The Merry Wives of Windsor
Troilus and Cressida
Winter’s Tale
Henry VI pt. 2
Henry V
Henry VI pt. 1
Henry VI pt. 2
Henry VI pt. 3
Henry VIII
King John
Richard II
Timon of Athens

I saw this production at the Olivier Theatre (part of the National Theatre) in London. It was well acted, especially by Helena and the Countess of Rousillion (Clare Higgins). Parolles (played by Conleth Hill) is character rather similar to Falstaff in Henry IV pt. 1, and Mr. Hill provided well-timed comic relief. The highlight of the show was the dark, looming set for France, which easily became the welcoming hills of Italy. Most of the furniture and even some of the actors were on set for the entire act and lighting is used to show changes in location. There were also some pretty epic slow-motion sequences and silhouetted pantomimes. Pictured: Michelle Terry as Helena, Oliver Ford Davis as the King of France, and George Rainsford as Bertram.

I saw this “lost Shakespearean play” at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. With a minimal set and a low budget, the actors (all Cambridge University students) really shone through. I believe that the script is taken from the story that Cardenio tells the title character in “Don Quixote.” The sparknotes version of the plot is Henriquez loves Violante, but then he rapes her after promising to marry her. But then, he sees Leonora, the girlfriend of his friend, Julio. Henriquez sends Julio away to try to woo Leonora for himself. Meanwhile, Violante has disguised herself as a boy (in true Shakespearean spirit) and, with the help of Roderick, Henriquez’s brother, they ensure a happy ending (sort of). It was very refreshing to see a play when I had no idea how it was going to end. Pictured: Ben Blyth as Henriquez and Katie Alcock as Violante.

Titus Andronicus
Romeo and Juliet (2)
Hamlet
Julius Caesar
Othello
Antony and Cleopatra
King Lear (3)
Coriolanus
Macbeth
King Henry VI part 1
King Richard III
Taming of the Shrew
Comedy of Errors (2)
Two Gentlemen of Verona (2)
Love’s Labours Lost
Midsummer Night’s Dream (3)
Merchant of Venice
Much Ado About Nothing
As You Like It
Twelfth Night
Measure for Measure
Pericles, Prince of Tyre
The Tempest (2)

I’ve got 14 left, but some of those obscure histories will be hard to find…

Today, I ushered King Lear, starring Stacy Keach as the aging monarch, at The Shakespeare Theater’s Sidney Harman Hall. In was set in 1990’s Yugoslavia and was quite simply the most intense show I’ve ever seen on stage. The director did take some liberties with the text, but they all fit in with the message. This show was remounted at Harman Hall from Chicago’s Goodman Theatre, so I was unfamiliar with most of the actors. Pictured: Laura Odeh as Cordelia, and Stacy Keach as King Lear, with Junno Roberts as Edmund and ensembleman Matthew Lon Walker.

I ushered Twelfth Night at Sidney Harman Hall on Dec 13. The acting was superb (featuring some of my favorites: Floyd King, Tom Story, Christopher Invar, and Ted van Griethuysen), but the design was a bit strange. The lovers were showered with rose petals, which made it seem more like a Valentine’s Day show than a Christmas one, and I think that the costumer designer ran out of ideas because Olivia appeared in the exact same cut of dress in at least 4 different colors. Pictured: Veanne Cox as Olivia and Ted van Griethuysen as Malvolio

I ushered Henry IV pt.1 at the Folger Shakespeare Theater on Nov 9. It had one of my favorite comic actors, Tom Story, as Prince Hal, and he pulled off drama pretty well. Pictured: Tom Story as Prince Hal

Yesterday, I saw Romeo and Juliet (my second time for this play) at Sidney Harman Hall in Washington DC. It was very interesting in that it had an all male cast. Pictured: Aubrey Deeker as Mercutio with cast

So far I’ve seen:
As You Like It
The Comedy of Errors (2)
Love’s Labours Lost
Measure for Measure
The Merchant of Venice
A Midsummer Night’s Dream (3)
Much Ado About Nothing
Pericles, Prince of Tyre
Taming of the Shrew
The Tempest (2)
Two Gentlemen of Verona (2)
Richard III
Antony and Cleopatra
Coriolanus
Hamlet
Julius Caesar
King Lear
Macbeth
Othello
Romeo and Juliet
Titus Andronicus