TLC Forum

Hamlet is great. I recommend watching the David Tennent version while reading it. It's on YouTube methinks.

Romeo and Juliet could work for you Pev if you read it as a satire of young love.

The biggest drawback of reading Shakespeare is the format - Shakespearean English can be very difficult to understand, especially if you're not familiar with it at all.

If you're looking for (more) classic Shakespeare, Macbeth is super engaging. It is a tragedy, though, and supernatural occurrences are a key influence on the plot. (It also heavily influenced Lord of the Rings!)

I would stay away from the histories - those can be pretty dull.

I've heard that A Midsummer Night's Dream is pretty good (especially if you're just starting out), but I haven't read it myself.

Seeing any Shakespeare performed is usually more immersive than reading it. I think the best adaptation of any play that I've seen so far (that's available in digital format) is the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of King Lear (starring Ian McKellan!).

I read "A Midsummer Night's Dream" using "No Fear Shakespeare" which is a great way to get into the Bard's works. It has the text of the play on one side and a modern day "translation" on the other side that gives what it means and what the historical context of it was.

The only Shakespeare play I've read in its entirety is "A Winter's Tale", which has distinction for being both comedy and tragedy. Rather liked that one, actually. (And it has the best stage directions for a death ever.
Over my holidays, I picked up a reeeeally old copy of his historical plays, which I do intend to getting around to eventually. (*eyes all the other unread books on her shelf*)

"Exit, pursued by a bear." xD I went to see The Winter's Tale performed as a field trip for my drama class. All of my peers were incredibly disappointed that they didn't actually show the bear, they just had the guy run offstage screaming with bear noises in the background.

I saw A Midsummer Night's Dream at my city's Shakespeare in the Park. Phenomenal. Absolutely amazing.

*gasp* I love Shakespeare in the Park!

I agree with Hobbit
This past summer I got to see Cymbeline (in an outdoor theater by the ocean) for the first time! It was a complex plot with lots of twists and turns... I love going to Shakespeare by the sea with my family.

Oh! and today I got to go to an art exhibit by a Japanese artist who has done quite a few poster projects. This is his poster for Twelfth Night:

Has anyone seen the The Hollow Crown Series? (I'm not recommending them. I don't know what their rating is.) Just wondering.

It's summer so open air Shakespeare productions are popping up all over in my metroplex. When my son flies home we might try to catch Taming of the Shrew or MacBeth...