wwhaais your favourite Shakespeare comedy and what is your favourite Shakespeare tragedy? (You can pick multiple if you cant pick just one)
For a comedy- Much Ado About Nothing! The funniest production I’ve seen is the version with David Tennant and Catherine Tate but the best one overall might be The Public’s Much Ado for Shakespeare in the Park. Beatrice is such a great character. She’s snide and witty, but she has a very sweet and genuine side as well. Benedick is, I think, even more fun to play even than he is to watch- which is pretty fun indeed. I like Claudio as a villain also, I feel like everyone knows a guy like him. he’d be a very typical contestant on reality TV.
Picking a tragedy is way harder, but I’m going to go with Julius Ceasar- something about the way the characters speak captures my imagination. I definitely don’t think it’s the ‘best’ tragedy -Hamlet takes that followed by Macbeth and Othello- but there’s a certain melodrama to Julius Caesar I just adore. Mark Antony is such a cunning little freak, it’s great! That, and a play in which the plot hinges on characters delivering long orations about the political state of things appeals to me as an ex-debate captain. Still prefer the funny ones.
Thanks for the ask! maybe i’ll send the same question back, I’m honestly curious.