Just over a year and a half after making a resolution to watch all Shakespeare’s plays, I have just completed the task, although I must own up to two exceptions––The Two Noble Kinsmen (widely regarded as being only part-authored by Shakespeare) and Edward III (rarely performed and hard to find a good production).

It would be perhaps more accurate to say that I have watched all 37 plays in the BBC Shakespeare Collection.  And, I can’t let this feat go unrecognised without ranking them in order of personal preference.

Henry VI Part II
Henry VI Part III
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
The Taming of the Shrew
Henry IV Part II
King John
Henry V
Richard II
Richard III
Julius Caesar
Titus Andronicus
King Lear
Much Ado About Nothing
Henry IV Part I
As You Like It
Cymbeline
The Comedy of Errors
Macbeth
Hamlet
Othello
Henry VI Part I
The Winter’s Tale
The Tempest
Pericles
Romeo and Juliet
Twelfth Night
Measure for Measure
All’s Well That Ends Well
Anthony and Cleopatra
The Merchant of Venice
Coriolanus
The Merry Wives of Windsor
Henry VIII
Two Gentleman of Verona
Love’s Labour’s Lost
Troilus and Cressida
Timon of Athens

Now, a little bit of qualification is probably needed.  What I have ranked is specifically my preferences of the BBC productions, not necessarily the actual play itself.  For example, my favourite BBC Shakespeare was Henry VI Part 2, but Richard II remains my actual favourite of Shakespeare’s plays.

To add a bit of extra detail to my choices: what I enjoyed best about Henry VI Part 2 was actor Peter Benson’s inspired performance in the title role.  He evoked both the King’s innocence and naivety, as well as possessing a face that looked like it was straight out of the medieval period.

Other opinions: Othello.  Wonderful performance by Bob Hoskins as Iago; woeful performance by Anthony Hopkins as Othello, makes for a mid-rank for this play.

Another stand-out performance was Phil Daniels’ Puck in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, elevating that play to a rank beyond where I would normally have cast it; similarly, John Cleese as Petruchio in The Taming of the Shrew.

Disappointments: Richard Griffiths’ Falstaff in The Merry Wives of Windsor; and Jane Lapotaire’s Cleopatra in Anthony and Cleopatra.

Timon of Athens bottom?  It’s just a tough-to-watch play.  I don’t think any different casting would have greatly elevated it for me.

And, so, how do I feel now that I have completed my resolution?  Privileged to have been able to enjoy the rich language of a literary genius and to have spent so long in his company.  Quite pleased with myself, too.  I am certainly feeling better educated.  And, to some extent, successful in my ambition to be able to emit an irritating “Fwah-fwah” whenever I cite a fresh piece of recently-acquired Shakespeare knowledge.  Also, a bit sad to be truthful.  I have enjoyed my fortnightly Shakespeare evenings.  I will miss them.

So, what next?  Well, undoubtedly, at some stage, I will watch both The Two Noble Kinsmen and Edward III.  And, after that?  Probably keep watching other interpretations of the plays.  I’ve just seen Kenneth Branagh’s excellent As You Like It set in Meiji-era Japan.

“Fwah-fwah.”

© Fergus Longfellow

Fergus Longfellow celebrates watching 37 Shakespeare plays.