TITUS ANDRONICUS (Shake-Scene Theatre Company)****

 

By Alan

Link: https://www.patreon.com/shakesceneshakespeare

Available until: Unknown

Content warning: This play is recommended for 16+ and contains some very sensitive content including violence, rape and murder which is done very realistically even on Zoom. If you think this play might not be for you, watch one of the others by Shake-Scene instead. You get sensitive people of all different ages and that’s totally fine. But if it is your sort of thing then watch it because it’s a good production.

Additional Warning: Maybe don’t watch this if you’re eating. Especially not if it’s pie.

CORIOLANUS (Shake-Scene Theatre Company)****

 

By Cal

Link: https://www.patreon.com/shakesceneshakespeare

Available until: Unknown

Before lockdown, all I knew about Coriolanus is that yes, the last two syllables usually are pronounced in the rude way. Now, I’m a bit more educated about Shakespeare (and maybe even a bit more mature) and other parts of this play are far more interesting to me – including how surprisingly enjoyable Coriolanus is.

ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA (Shake-Scene Theatre Company)*****

 

By Louise

Link: https://www.patreon.com/shakesceneshakespeare

Available until: Unknown

Antony and Cleopatra is classed as a tragedy, but there is a lot more to it than that. It is also a sort of history play as it deals with real historical events and there are some very dramatic scenes with physical and verbal battles. Nobody would ever call it a comedy, but there are scenes in it which are very funny.

THE COMEDY OF ERRORS (Shake-Scene Shakespeare Theatre Company)*****

 

By Tasha & Ry (The Twins!)

Link: https://www.patreon.com/shakesceneshakespeare (sign up here to access this and loads more brilliant plays, they’re doing the whole lot!)

Available until: Unknown

We love this because it is about twins! And what is even better than one set of twins? Twin sets of twins!

This is a really funny play. It doesn’t all make sense because I think if you go looking for your twin somewhere and get mistaken for someone else then it’s just like obviously your twin isn’t it? But we don’t think that matters. I think it’s more important for plays to be entertaining than it is for them to make sense. Making sense is like so overrated.

HENRY VIII (Shake-Scene Shakespeare Theatre Company)*****

 

By Louise

Link: https://www.patreon.com/shakesceneshakespeare

Available until: Unknow

Henry VIII is probably Shakespeare’s least-known history play. King John is another one that isn’t performed often, but I think people with an interest in Shakespeare usually know it exists. Before I started watching Shakespeare in lockdown, I didn’t even know there was a Henry VIII, but I’ve been lucky enough to see four productions in lockdown. It’s a very enjoyable play – especially with a cast like this – with interesting characters and so many really powerful moments.

RICHARD III (Shake-Scene Shakespeare Theatre Company)*****

 

By Megan

Link: https://www.patreon.com/shakesceneshakespeare (Shake-Scene recorded another Richard III in 2020. This is the one is from October 2021.)

Available until: Unknown

If you don’t know the normal British way of naming the Kings (which you might not if you don’t live in the UK), you might think Richard III is the third in a trilogy with Richard II being the second and Richard I… well maybe that got lost like Cardenio.

If you do know that Richard III is the third English King called Richard, you might think that Richard III is a standalone history play like King John.

HENRY VI PART III (Shake-Scene Theatre Company)*****

 

By Megan

Link: https://www.patreon.com/shakesceneshakespeare

Available until: Unknown

The acting in Shake-Scene productions is always brilliant. The plots are really clear (though there are probably things I will understand better when I get older) and the actors perform with lots of enthusiasm. They are also the only company who uses cue scripts like Shakespeare did which gives them a real individuality. If you are interested in cue scripts you should definitely watch these plays. It is really interesting and cue scripts really do work.

HENRY VI PART II (Shake-Scene Shakespeare Theatre Company)*****

 

By Megan

Link: https://www.patreon.com/shakesceneshakespeare

Available until: Unknown

Henry VI Part II is believed to be Shakespeare’s first history play. It’s not King John, which is the earliest historically. It’s not Henry VI Part I, which you’d expect to come before Part II. It was Henry VI Part II (though it probably wasn’t called Part II at the time). Well, it was probably the first. It’s difficult to be completely sure with Shakespeare’s plays. Shakespeare might actually have liked it that way. I think he liked to keep people guessing.

HENRY VI PART I (Shake-Scene Shakespeare Theatre Company)*****

 

By Megan

Link: https://www.patreon.com/shakesceneshakespeare

Available until: Unknown

Half-term is traditionally a time when children have fun and that’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to watch the three parts of Shakespeare’s Henry VI over five days. It sounds quite a lot because even the shortest one (this one) is nearly four hours long but it’s by Shakespeare and it’s presented by Shake-Scene Shakespeare Theatre Company so I knew it was going to be really good.

THE MERCHANT OF VENICE (Shake-Scene Shakespeare Company)****

 By Cal

 

Link: https://www.patreon.com/shakesceneshakespeare

Available until: Unknown 

The Merchant of Venice is definitely a problem play for me. There’s a lot here to make a modern audience very uncomfortable. 

Another problem is whose side you’re on. Nobody behaves all that well – and while this is a charge that could be levelled at a number of Shakespeare’s characters, the characters in The Merchant of Venice aren’t as easy to invest in as such incredible creations as Iago and the Macbeths.

MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING (Shake-Scene Theatre Company)****

 

By Megan

Link: https://www.patreon.com/shakesceneshakespeare

Available until: Unknown

Lots of theatres are reopening all over the country but there is still lots of online theatre to be enjoyed and one company who has said they will keep going because they are enjoying it so much is Shake-Scene Theatre Company. They have already started their King Henry VI cycle with the final part coming next month. We will be reviewing all three close together like we did with Henry IV.

HENRY IV PART II (Shake-Scene Shakespeare)****

 

By Louise

Link: https://www.patreon.com/shakesceneshakespeare

Available until: Unknown

At the end of this play, book holder Lizzie Hughes said Henry IV Part II wasn’t like one big play, it was like lots of little plays, one after another. I was so glad to hear her say that because I was thinking exactly the same thing, but I wasn’t sure if I was brave enough to write it in my review.

HENRY IV PART I (Shake-Scene Theatre Company)*****

  

By Louise

Link: https://www.patreon.com/shakesceneshakespeare

Available until: Unknown

I find the history plays quite difficult so even though I knew Shake-Scene would do a brilliant performance of this play, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to appreciate it as much as it deserved. But this really is a great production with so many fun moments and it’s very easy to follow.

RICHARD II (Shake-Scene Theatre Company)*****

 

By Cal

Link: https://www.patreon.com/shakesceneshakespeare

Available until: Unknown

Richard II marks the beginning of a long history cycle which has sadly skipped King John, but he did reign quite a long time before Richard II. The other history plays more or less move from one King to the next. Judging from Shake-Scene’s performance of Richard II, it’s going to be a very exciting cycle. Richard III will not officially be part of this cycle as Shake-Scene have done this play already, but as we haven’t watched it yet, we will be sticking it on the end after Henry VI Part III.

AS YOU LIKE IT (Shake-Scene Theatre Company/Cream Faced Loons)*****

 

By Emma

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NnxD1zy6g88 

Available until: Unknown

This production of As You Like It was the first ever collaboration between Shake-Scene Theatre Company and the Cream Faced Loons. I’ve watched productions from both of them and really enjoyed them. I’ve seen quite a few Shake-Scene productions and I reviewed their The Merry Wives of Windsor which I loved. But they’re equally good at tragedy, their Macbeth was actually quite emotional and The Winter’s Tale is a beautiful story with a bit of everything and Shake-Scene’s production was lovely.

A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM (Shake-Scene Shakespeare)*****

  

By Cal 

Link: https://www.patreon.com/shakesceneshakespeare

Available until: Unknown

It’s easy to think of a play as something that’s there to entertain the audience. The cast and creatives do their job. We enjoy ourselves. But actually, acting can be a lot of fun for the performers too and that’s something you really notice with Shakes-Scene Shakespeare. They’re having an absolutely brilliant time.

THE WINTER’S TALE (Shake-Scene Theatre Company)*****

 

By Louise

Link: https://www.patreon.com/shakesceneshakespeare

Available until: Unknown

The Winter’s Tale isn’t one of Shakespeare’s most famous plays, but it has been one of the ones I have seen the most performances of in lockdown. 

Maybe this is because it’s a wonderful play with a lot of interesting themes which are relevant to today. The separation from some family members is something which I’m sure we have all experienced and a lot of people can identify with Leontes’ mental health problems too. Not his exact situation, but he believes something so strongly, he can’t accept that something else might be true and he doesn’t know how to deal with it. The Winter’s Tale (I hope this is not a spoiler) also brings hope that we might get a happy ending too, but it’s not a completely happy ending. Some things can’t go back to the way they were and that is something that is relevant for us too.

MACBETH (Shake-Scene Shakespeare)*****

 

By Megan

Link: https://www.patreon.com/shakesceneshakespeare

Available until: Unknown. If you can’t find it, you could try again another time because they do come back.

Shake-Scene’s production of Macbeth is very inventive and very emotional. Zoom theatre has been happening for nearly a year now and a lot of companies are producing special effects which are getting more and more impressive and it’s really great to watch but I think there is still a lot to say for productions that keep it fairly simple.

LOVE’S LABOUR’S LOST (Shake-Scene Theatre Company)****

 

By Louise

Link: https://www.patreon.com/shakesceneshakespeare

Available until: Unknown

Love’s Labour’s Lost is supposed to be the first of two plays, but ironically it was the other one that was lost. Some people think Much Ado About Nothing is the sequel, but the characters are different and the set-up is different so that would be very surprising unless Shakespeare started off writing it one way, only for it to go in a completely different direction.