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If you have no particular performance or even particular play in mind, it is essential first of all to strike up such a personal concern with a script. You might do this by thinking about a performance you have already seen; or by learning of a live performance coming to your area; or from popular impressions of such characters as Romeo, Hamlet, Lady Macbeth, or Cleopatra; or even by reading plot summaries in Wikipedia.

The following sources can help you familiarize yourself with different performances of Shakespeare’s plays:

  • YouTube has the richest collection of Shakespeare performances on the internet. The quality, extent, and reliability of Shakespeare performance on YouTube are very variable: from excerpts, and sometimes whole films of superior quality (such as the Scofield’s King Lear) to naïve amateur attempts. A curated selection of YouTube Shakespeare performances can be found on shakespearestaging.berkeley.edu.

  • Bardbox has a cross-section of interesting excerpts and complete projects.  

  • This site has a wide selection of historical and current production images: shakespearestaging.berkeley.edu.

  • The Encyclopedia Britannica’s Guide to Shakespeare has audio clips and video clips of productions.

Please offer comments and suggestions on any aspects the site to: Director Hugh Richmond at richmondh77@gmail.com. See samples at the site Blog.

Except where otherwise specified, all written commentary is © 2016, Hugh Macrae Richmond.