Oh wait. Her character's name is actually Viola, isn't it? That's where he gets the name? I could be wrong on this, though.

God I love this conversation. Having taught Hamlet using all three of the major versions (Olivier, Branagh, and Gibson), I have to say that I like watching them best all together, because then I can take the aspects I like about each and smoosh them together into the version I would love to see.

Actually, I just recently saw a fabulous stage production of Hamlet that reinterpreted the Dane as younger and much more vulnerable than I had ever seen before (a lover, not a fighter--a kind of overgrown teenager not quite knowing what to do with the pressure of violence). I thought I was going to hate it for the first few minutes and then grew to really love it by the end. It's not so much that I prefer that intepretation, but it made me think about the role in a new way.

I'm don't have my PhD in it or anything, but considering I've taught the play extensively, seen a dozen or more stage performances, and watched most of the filmed versions out there, I was pretty impressed with the fact that this director made me consider the lines in an entirely different way.

Okay I know, I know! Working, not playing!

t thwaps hand again

Could you all go back to talking about Joyce? I'm a complete moron when it comes to Joyce and therefore don't feel the need to inflict my ignorance on you.

Was that the one with Diana Rigg as Regan and Leo McKern as Gloucester? Or was that a later version Olivier did for the Beeb?

Rigg, McKern, Tuten at all. That's the one.

There is one extremely well-done Hamlet version that I nearly forgot about entirely: Kevin Kline, on Broadway, filmed for PBS. Judith Ivey as Gertrude, and (swooning here) Diane Venora as Ophelia.

Oh, yes. That is fantastic.

The best Shrew I've ever seen was the tape of the American Conservatory Theatre's production. The BeastMaster himself, Marc Singer, was Petruchio, and he was quite good. The entire thing was done as a commedia dell'arte, with a latticework on each side and arching over that the actors not on stage hung out on (literally), and a very springy floor. It was amazing.

Well, and of course the conceit of 12th Night is that the protagonist is a girl who dresses as a boy and falls in love with her male coworker. (And also, there's the whole theme about the the responsibilities of nobles to their lesser kin/hangers-on, which resonates nicely with Judi Dench and her irritating court.) Except the play's Viola is actually happy to put the dress back on at the end.

(I read an article, when that movie originally came out, that described some of the more common "Shakespeare has an annus mirabilis right before writing R & J" speculations, and decried the film for not going a more complex or surprising route. The author suggested that Shakespeare and Marlowe should have fallen in love, and Marlowe's death to have been the kick in the butt Shakespeare needed to improve his writing. Anyway, it would explain some of the gender trouble of the plays.)

(I also read a short story where Shakespeare and Marlowe switched identities, and it was Will-as-Marlowe who was murdered, and Kit-as-Shakespeare stayed away from Stratford for the next 20 years so "his" wife wouldn't know of the switch. I don't think this would explain why everyone today seems to esteem Marlowe higher than even later Shakespeare, but it was a cute idea.)

I have yet to see an Ophelia I really like. Playing "crazy" is such a difficult thing to pull off -- the only actor (male or female) I can think of off the top of my head who does it well is Ben Browder.

a lover, not a fighter--a kind of overgrown teenager not quite knowing what to do with the pressure of violence

See, that's precisely how I've always seen him: a teenager with a really severe Oedipal thing going on, sulky, self-absorbed, not remotely heroic, and extremely physical because he's uncomfortable in his body.

The one version I will always regret that no one got on film for posterity was Daniel Day-Lewis at the Old Vic. MAN oh man. Because his father died when he was a teenager, and he still has father issues. And apparently, he brought some incredible pain and fire to the part.

See, that's precisely how I've always seen him: a teenager with a really severe Oedipal thing going on, sulky, self-absorbed, not remotely heroic, and extremely physical because he's uncomfortable in his body.

oh, i agree. I've always been slightly irritated at older actors in the role, but then I don't know that a younger actor could make it work.

I think that i saw the version of the Shrew that Julianna saw. I really liked it - really broadly done - so the things that make it so disturbing to the modern viewer , aren't a problem.

The author suggested that Shakespeare and Marlowe should have fallen in love, and Marlowe's death to have been the kick in the butt Shakespeare needed to improve his writing.

Nutty, have you read Martha Grimes' The Dirty Duck? She uses the Marlowe/Shakespeare connection as a sort of subtheme, a thread running through the mystery. And she sets it mostly in Stratford.