Liz Suggests

A few years ago I was given the Rough Guide to Shakespeare by Andrew Dickson. If you, like me, need to be reminded of the plot of some of Shakespeare’s plays it is an invaluable guide, giving a synopsis, a history of adaptations, further reading material and a list of filmed versions. And this summer the book has proved indispensable as there seems to be more than the usual number of Shakespeare plays being performed in London, the hot ticket being the Donmar West End’s Hamlet with Jude Law. All’s Well That Ends Well is at the National and has had great reviews (the Sunday Times called Marianne Elliott’s production ‘an irresistible blend of magic, psychological insight and moral judgment’). Sam Mendes’s Bridge Project brings The Winter’s Tale (in rep with The Cherry Orchard) to the Old Vic, with Simon Russell Beale, Rebecca Hall, Josh Hamilton and Ethan Hawke, and at Shakespeare’s Globe Dominic Dromgoole’s Romeo and Juliet is paired with Thea Sharrock’s As You Like It. Much Ado About Nothing is being staged at the Open Air Theatre in Regent’s Park, as is The Tempest, which has been ‘reimagined for everyone aged six and over’. And, of course, for those venturing further afield Julius Caesar, As You Like It, The Winter’s Tale and The Comedy of Errors are playing at Stratford. A Shakespearean fest indeed.