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I ‘studied’ Much Ado About Nothing in school (as the author wished for) but it was lost on me. Probably the issue is not normally the specific choice of play. B

I ‘studied’ Much Ado About Nothing in school (as the author wished for) but it was lost on me. Probably the issue is not normally the specific choice of play. But there are lots of things that are hard about Shakespeare in school, even ignoring the unfamiliar language. (A friend from another country said they studied some Shakespeare which had been translated into his language so didn’t sound so unfamiliar, but I can’t imagine something like that being done for english-speaking schools). I feel like The Tempest is lower than I expected. I think it is often liked for not so easily fitting into one of the traditional genres. I feel like I see productions advertised reasonably frequently but I also did this at school so maybe I notice them more for that reason. I think the OP has the same favourite play as fictional classics professor Jim Lloyd, which is interesting for some, I guess.

ojbyrne 3y ago
As well as comedies, histories, and tragedies, some plays include The Tempest are often classified in a 4th genre - "romances" [0] 0.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakespeare%27s_late_romances#:~:text=The%20late%20romances%2C%20often%20simply,also%20included%20in%20the%20grouping https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakespeare%27s_late_romances#....
necubi 3y ago
The comedies are so much better performed than on the page. I find the humor gets a bit lost in the archaic language, but a good cast is able to bring it for modern audiences.
- as_bntd 3y ago
  The problem with the stage is that it is much harder to stay on top of the plot. Especially when you aren't used to the language.
  - muffinman26 3y ago
    If you have good enough performers, unfamiliarity with the language won't get in the way. It might seem a bold assertion, but there's a reason that classically-trained Shakespearian actors are often cast in sci-fi shows (Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen as perhaps the most famous examples). They're trained to convey more information through intonation and gesture so that you don't need to know the words they're saying, which translates well to performances in invented languages.
    - kevinmchugh 3y ago
      I tend to agree (Alec Guinness being another great example), though I think it is also about how big a deal live Shakespeare was in Britain in the eras those actors came up. A lot of good British actors were in Hamlet because they were talented and of age. It'd be extra convincing if there were more non-Brits with Shakespeare backgrounds that became big Sci Fi actors to point to. There are American Shakespeare companies or performances, but it's a much smaller deal. ETA: another source of great sci-fi actors was Hammer Films, which produced Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing. Great American sci-fi actors come from more backgrounds because there's more acting jobs in America.
    - brewdad 3y ago
      David Tennant (THE Doctor) is performing Macbeth at Donmar Warehouse in London this winter. One show basically ticks three boxes (actor, play, and theatre) for my wife and her Shakespeare fandom. So it's a 10 hour flight for us in December.
    - as_bntd 3y ago
      Maybe I just didn't encounter any such performance when I was less... to be perfectly honest, I don't think I've ever seen a Shakespearean stage play I've been able to fully follow, even though my English is OK nowadays. I've always had to use captions and backtrack/pause.
plorkyeran 3y ago
I too "studied" Much Ado About Nothing in high school. It was basically an extended exercise in joke dissection as outside of some of Dogberry's lines no one in the class had the slightest clue what was supposed to be funny about it, and it went about as well as dissecting jokes usually does.

ojbyrne 3y ago

As well as comedies, histories, and tragedies, some plays include The Tempest are often classified in a 4th genre - "romances" [0] 0.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakespeare%27s_late_romances#:~:text=The%20late%20romances%2C%20often%20simply,also%20included%20in%20the%20grouping https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakespeare%27s_late_romances#....

necubi 3y ago

The comedies are so much better performed than on the page. I find the humor gets a bit lost in the archaic language, but a good cast is able to bring it for modern audiences.

as_bntd 3y ago
The problem with the stage is that it is much harder to stay on top of the plot. Especially when you aren't used to the language.
- muffinman26 3y ago
  If you have good enough performers, unfamiliarity with the language won't get in the way. It might seem a bold assertion, but there's a reason that classically-trained Shakespearian actors are often cast in sci-fi shows (Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen as perhaps the most famous examples). They're trained to convey more information through intonation and gesture so that you don't need to know the words they're saying, which translates well to performances in invented languages.
  - kevinmchugh 3y ago
    I tend to agree (Alec Guinness being another great example), though I think it is also about how big a deal live Shakespeare was in Britain in the eras those actors came up. A lot of good British actors were in Hamlet because they were talented and of age. It'd be extra convincing if there were more non-Brits with Shakespeare backgrounds that became big Sci Fi actors to point to. There are American Shakespeare companies or performances, but it's a much smaller deal. ETA: another source of great sci-fi actors was Hammer Films, which produced Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing. Great American sci-fi actors come from more backgrounds because there's more acting jobs in America.
  - brewdad 3y ago
    David Tennant (THE Doctor) is performing Macbeth at Donmar Warehouse in London this winter. One show basically ticks three boxes (actor, play, and theatre) for my wife and her Shakespeare fandom. So it's a 10 hour flight for us in December.
  - as_bntd 3y ago
    Maybe I just didn't encounter any such performance when I was less... to be perfectly honest, I don't think I've ever seen a Shakespearean stage play I've been able to fully follow, even though my English is OK nowadays. I've always had to use captions and backtrack/pause.

plorkyeran 3y ago

I too "studied" Much Ado About Nothing in high school. It was basically an extended exercise in joke dissection as outside of some of Dogberry's lines no one in the class had the slightest clue what was supposed to be funny about it, and it went about as well as dissecting jokes usually does.