by Sandra Piddock

Created on: January 28, 2011

Choosing the 'best' Shakespeare plays is a bit of a minefield, because there are so many variables to consider. How a play was taught in school, how well - or badly - it was performed on stage, and whether your favourite actor took the lead in the last Shakespeare film adaptation you saw may all influence individual choices.

However, there are some Shakespeare plays that are universally acclaimed, and frequently performed on stage and screen, so maybe these are the parameters that should decide the 'best' plays. So here 'In no particular order,' as the reality show presenters are so fond of saying when the public vote comes in, are the best Shakespeare plays.

Henry V

This play is full of action and adventure. The roistering Prince Hal of the Henry IV plays has grown up to the extent that he can lead his army to victory against the dastardly French. The language is accessible, and there's plenty of action and rabble-rousing, patriotic speeches.

The great thing about Henry V, though, is that it is open to myriad interpretations. The theme is Britain under threat, and pulling through thanks to a brave, inspired leader. In 1944, Laurence Olivier turned the play into a homage to England, and a call to its war-weary population to keep the home fires burning ready for the returning, victorious soldiers. The lavish spectacle that was Olivier's Henry V was also a propoganda piece to remind the nation what we were fighting for.

By contrast, Kenneth Branagh's 1989 version echoed the anti-war message of Adrian Noble's 1984 stage production. This was the first performance of the play following the Falklands War, and it sent the message that war had a high cost in human suffering. It was something messy that had to be endured and survived. These two very different interpretations of the play were entirely credible, and they serve to illustrate that Shakespeare's writing resonates still, 400 years after his death.

A Midsummer Night's Dream

This is easily the most accessible of Shakespeare's plays, and certainly the funniest. Some of the so-called comedy writers of today could learn a lot from this. There are four sets of lovers, a group of fairies, and the 'nice but dim' mechanicals, who are determined to put on a fine performance to celebrate the wedding of Theseus and Hippolyta. What could possibly go wrong? Just about everything!

The wonderful thing about this play is that all human - and fairy - life is there. The language is easy to follow, and the

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>