see all of Shakespeare's plays

I finally watched the movie version in its entirety. I was very impressed by the film. The costumes were very creative. I enjoyed the creativity of the costumes. Some scenes looked like they were set for the stage, and other scenes used special effects that I found confusing.

I have been really low in energy lately. I have not attended the Portland Actors Ensemble staging of King Henry IV. Tomorrow is the last performance. It has been rainy, so I don’t know if I will go tomorrow. On the other hand, I am sure the actors would appreciate an audience, if the weather is bad.

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.

I watched this earlier this week. A DVD on loan from the library.

I have not been visiting 43things, so I have other performances to mention.

King Lear July,2009 at Cathedral Park, Portland, Oregon

Two Gentlemen of Verona summer of 2008, also at a Portland park.

I currently have the film Titus (directed by Julie Taymor) on loan from the library. I am very impressed by it, but I just could not watch it straight through. It was overwhelming. Also, I was not clear on family relations among the Roman characters.

I have 14 to go also, but not exactly the same 14! So far I have seen:

All's Well That Ends Well
As You Like It
Cymbeline (recently at Theatricum Botanicum in L.A.)
Love's Labour's Lost
Measure for Measure
The Merry Wives of Windsor
The Merchant of Venice
A Midsummer Night's Dream
Much Ado About Nothing
Taming of the Shrew
The Tempest
Troilus and Cressida
Twelfth Night
Winter's Tale
Henry V
Richard II
Richard III
Antony and Cleopatra
Hamlet
Julius Caesar
King Lear
Macbeth
Timon of Athens

Hope to see Coriolanus this season at Old Globe in San Diego.

Strangely enough, I have not seen Othello or Romeo & Juliet live though I have seen them on film a number of times. I probably will not have much trouble finding them though. Some of the histories will be hard to come by, I agree.

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.

It’s well-acted, and it helps a lot that I know a good bit about ol’ Hank from history classes…but I do wonder if I should have watched the Henrys in order. For some reason, I didn’t realize that Falstaff DIES at the BEGINNING of this play. Bah.

Also, there’s a lot of nice warring going on, and some really good speeches (which have been quoted hither and yon), but . I guess I’m not a history kind of gal.

On film is just fine with me. My goal is really to see the best-acted performances that I possibly can, AND the most unabridged performances possible. I have seen quite a few movie versions of Shakespeare, thanks to study during high school and college. At the moment, my favorite performance is still Thompson and Branagh’s Much Ado About Nothing; least favorite is a horrid community theater production of The Merry Wives of Windsor. I normally love community theater, but the Falstaff really was appalling.

ANYHOO. I’m kicking off this goal with Branagh’s unabridged Hamlet. That’s right: four hours of cinematic splendor! I’m seriously serious about this one. :)

ETA: Branagh’s Hamlet is awesome. Maybe not the best choice for a first encounter with the play, but fantastic nonetheless. And since I’ve studied and watched this play several times, it was really nice to see it in its entirety. I only wish there were more unabridged Shakespeare movies out there!