favorite Shakespeare production you ever saw?

I've seen a bunch of amateur and professional Shakespeare over the years, including at the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, DC--

But the one that has the biggest place in my heart was a Shakespeare in the park performance of Midsummer Night's Dream put on by a local college 4 years ago. The unpolished but genuine enthusiasm of the student actors moved me more than any professional production I've seen. Like the line from the play itself: "For never anything can be amiss, When simpleness and duty tender it."

I often enjoy amateur theatre more than pro, in the way one enjoys minor league baseball over MLB: more exciting because it's rougher at the edges, messier, more prone to extreme wins and losses.

Others?

one of the loveliest productions of "The seagull" i ever saw was an amateur production, there was such heart in it, and for not being by the numbers lazy repertory, Brit theatre can be fearfully lazy in respect of Chekhov, but i digress and i've also seen some beautiful and rightly celebrated productions by professionals, Ralph Fiennnes Ivanov, for instance

However, yes

i missed "my" Lear last year, so moving on, i saw Robert Stephens Lear,much revered, talked about, didnt move me at all. He was brilliant, but so so slow

Ralph Fiennes Richard II was astonishing, he's never less than habituate intelligence as presence, but he outdid himself there, really, excelled hisownself. Alec McCowen's Prospero to Simon Russel Beale's Ariel, so the Fiennes and McCowen are possibly the two best productions i've ever seen, but then i think of Michael Gambon's Falstaff, aw man that was a work of brilliance. David Calder was likewise lovely as Prospero, but he's my Lear, so. And Patrick Stewart, Harriet Walter in Antony and Cleopatra. I'm middle aged and seen lots oof theatre and probably forget things. But unless he's undergone some drastic instruction/epiphany in the last few months, yeah Patrick Stewart is a fabulous Antony, but he should leave Beckett alone.

Several Merchant of Venice, Willard White as Othelllo, Ian McKellen as Iago scared the bejesus out of me

Shakespeare at the Globe is always fun and is a different experience altogether for being unreconstructed. This year i saw an extraordinary production of Troilus and Cressida, all bets off and wholly wholly unsettling. Also "as you like i" which was a gem and no small joy, given that i'm no good with the comedies

And this was remarkable
http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/45523/pr...-ends-well.html

And as to am/pro wins/losses, yes up to a point, because it isn't always about polish,Bleak, but conception, and i've seen at least one professional Lear that was just plain wrong,because the vision/conception was off.

This post has been edited by oneofmurphysbiscuits on Nov 4 2009, 02:14 PM

Ian McKellen in the RSC Lear.

what might have been had i been more awake

http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2008/may/05/theatre

i know some reviews raved about McKellen's Lear, other people said he was technically perfect but a pale shadow besides the above, but one thing Harold Bloom and i would agree upon is that everyone has their Lear, when i'm in better shape i'll watch the Lear and Hamlet on film as recommended by Funhouse, too

and Ian McKellen's Coriolanus is the stuff of legend isnt it?

http://www.mckellen.com/stage/coriolanus/index.html

Rene was a wonderful Edgar to Raul Julia's Edmund, with James Earl Jones as Lear, filmed Shakespeare in the park.

wow, quite a history!

Patrick Stewart live would be amazing.

Saw him in the Soviet-esque Macbeth a couple of years back and it was a great experience for sure!

I'm lucky because London has so much theatre going on, and spread around unlike NY, but basically i just love theatre and over a long enough time, twenty five years plus i've seen good stuff here and across country.

Patrick Stweart's Antony was amazing, and as Antony displaying all the self awareness that Picard never has in trek