He’s undisputably the greatest playwright to have ever lived. He’s the most performed playwright in history. But which of William Shakespeare’s plays do twenty-first century Brits actually like the most?
Back in 2016, we marked the celebrations around the four hundredth anniversary of Shakespeare’s death by asking the public to vote on what they thought the best of his works were.
It was an intersting one: which of the Bard’s plays would win? The endlessly staged blockbusters like A Midsummer Night’s Dream? The ‘critics’ choice’ that is Hamlet? Or maybe one of the cult, lesser-known ones – an unexpected upset from The Two Gentlemen of Verona, perhaps? Here's how the top ten actually turned out in our ultimate Shakespeare play-off.
When was it written?
1600
What's it about?
A bereaved student ponders the meaning of life when he should be on a killing spree.
Why's it so good?
What is there left to say about Hamlet? It reputation is so towering it’s hard to be objective about it, but this epic about a young man contemplating his own mortality while attempting to avenge his father is certainly a pretty hot contender for the greatest thing ever written in English.
When was it written?
1605
What's it about?
A Scottish lord is persuaded to commit brutal murder by three witches and his wife, who promptly gets cold feet.
Why's it so good?
Short, thrilling and charged with the supernatural, this dark tragedy about the consequences of a Scottish lord’s terrible lust for power is probably Shakespeare’s most ‘modern’ and accessible play.
When was it written?
1595
What's it about?
A bunch of bickering fairies attempt to solve the romantic problems of some horny mortals lost in their wood.
Why's it so good?
People love this exuberant magical comedy – it’s the ultimate crowd-pleaser and the perfect summer play.
When was it written?
1598
What's it about?
Slow-burning romance and extreme sassiness in the Sicilian countryside.
Why's it so good?
Full of gags and one-liners, it's one of Shakespeare's biggest crowd pleasers about how bloody hilarious it is when people make a big hullabaloo about nothing. Lol.
When was it written?
1605
What's it about?
A father-of-three takes early retirement and goes a little bit nuts.
Why's it so good?
The last of Shakespere’s great tragedies, this wild, elemental play about a tyrant losing his mind in old age is a haunting vision of collapse that has inspired countless works of art.
When was it written?
1604
What's it about?
What happens when race relations in sixteenth-century Venice don’t go terribly well.
Why's it so good?
Arguably the most powerful play about racism ever written, and a terrifying study in the destructive power of jealousy.
When was it written?
1599
What's it about?
A Shakespeare trope overload: romantic cross-dressing with twins and a shipwreck.
Why's it so good?
A big, grown-up comedy about identity and lost love that rewrites, supercharges and outclasses all his previous comedies.
When was it written?
1611.
What's it about?
Sorcerer and single dad Prospero takes revenge on his enemies – magic style.
Why's it so good?
Full of sorcery and spectacle, Shakespeare’s deeply layered final play also tends to look spectacular when staged right.
© Marc Brenner
When was it written?
1594
What's it about?
The children of mortal enemies fall for each other. It all gets a bit :’(.
Why's it so good?
It’s the uber-love story, the template for every tale of doomed romance ever written. Everything else is just a variation.
When was it written?
1596
What's it about?
Things get a teeny bit antisemitic when a Venetian noble defaults on a loan to a Jewish merchant.
Why's it so good?
Troubling and complex, it’s proven endlessly malleable as a comment on Christian Europe’s troubled relationship with its Jewish population (and Portia is one of the Bard’s great female characters).
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