You may not be able to get out and see a Shakespeare performance right now, but fear not! Dr Lynn Robson shares some of her favourite online finds.
For your daily dose of Shakespeare, what could be better than listening to Sir Patrick Stewart reading one of the sonnets every morning. Find him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
The National Theatre Home on YouTube streams a different play every Thursday evening. This week in honour of Shakespeare’s birthday it’s Twelfth Night with Tamsin Greig as Malvolia. Why not settle in for a bit of cross-dressing confusion, and a bitter-sweet tale of loss and love.
The Royal Shakespeare Company is encouraging us all to #ShareYourShakespeare. Find your inner (or perhaps outer) thesp!
The RSC has also launched At Home with Shakespeare:
The BBC will broadcast the following plays as part of their Culture in Quarantine project. I’ve added my opinions about each production, but you shouldn’t take my word for it, you should watch for yourselves:
Macbeth (2018), directed by Polly Findlay with Christopher Eccleston and Niamh Cusack.
Divided critics and audiences but I saw it twice and was genuinely scared for the whole two hours of the performance. You won’t be expecting the way the witches are portrayed. Dr Who as Macbeth: what’s not to enjoy?
Hamlet (2016), directed by Simon Godwin with Paapa Essiedu.
The second-best Hamlet I’ve ever seen (happy for you to guess what my favourite one is). Set in an African Elsinore, this is a star-making performance by Paapa Essiedu, one of the most exciting actors working today. If you enjoy this check out this video on YouTube.
Romeo and Juliet (2018), directed by Erica Whyman.
Another one that divided audiences but I loved its energy, commitment, and pace. A female Mercutio, and a brilliant Juliet. Erica Whyman recognises what a radical play this was when Shakespeare wrote it, and directs it at full throttle.
Much Ado About Nothing (2014), directed by Christopher Luscombe.
Charming, witty production, which plays with a Downton Abbey-esque vibe. Set at the end of the First World War it was in a double-bill with Love’s Labour’s Lost, and retitled Love’s Labour’s Won. That’s a reference for Shakespeare nerds, which I’m happy to explain. Highly recommended.
Othello (2015), directed by Iqbal Khan with Hugh Quarshie and Lucian Msamati.
Another cherished theatre-going memory. Iqbal Khan is always provocative – sometimes it doesn’t work but this one worked for me. Hugh Quarshie is elegant and dangerous as Othello, and Lucian Msamati is compelling as black Iago. Made me rethink the way I teach and think about this play and I can’t give higher praise than that.
The Merchant of Venice (2015), directed by Polly Findlay.
Not the Las Vegas-set Merchant, sadly, but still a coherent, accessible production which doesn’t shy away from the problems this play dramatises and explores.
Marquee TV: You can sign up for a 14-day free trial of this service. Has a fantastic range of RSC productions as well as the Royal Ballet productions of The Dream and The Winter’s Tale. Also includes Glyndebourne’s production of the operatic version of Hamlet, and the unmissable all-female Donmar Shakespeare Trilogy (Julius Caesar, Henry IV and The Tempest).
Hi Lynn! Do you know when the Beeb are showing the plays you mentioned?…