The Bard on a budget ... Shakespeare on a shoestring

MSE_James

It's Shakespeare's birthday on Tuesday 23 April so we thought it would be a good idea to think about ways of enjoying the Bard's work without spending a fortune.

Our cheap theatre tickets guide includes details of the £5 groundling tickets at Shakespeare's Globe on London's Bankside but we'd love to hear other ways of seeing / hearing / reading Shakespeare in a MoneySaving way.

A number of theatres made full plays available online during lockdown but some of these are now behind paywalls. 

BBC iPlayer has a Shakespeare collection, including a number of filmed productions.  

Perhaps someone in your family is doing an exam on a Shakespeare play this summer - what free or cheap resources have they found helpful?

All thoughts welcome!

Brambling

Sky Arts which is available via free view often have Shakespeare at the moment they have Macbeth, Richard III, Romeo and Juliet.  Cinemas usually show 2 or 3 on screen viewing of of his plays most years which at £15 is cheaper than the train fare to watch anything at the Globe the next one is MacBeth on the 2nd May.

DayDreamerandGeneralWaster

Marlowe Canterbury has an abridged version of Hamlet performed by school age children, seats for a fiver. 

Mnoee

If you think you'd enjoy Shakespeare if one of the actors was incredibly drunk, I'd recommend !!!!!!-faced Shakespeare. (The content filter doesn't like their name, it seems. I'm sure you can work it out.) 

I've seen them perform Macbeth twice, once with an out of control Lady Macbeth who went off script to moan about the patriarchy, the second time with the man himself childishly refusing to perform - and the now sober Lady Macbeth saying his speech perfectly to much applause.

Both were at comedy festivals at a cost of around £15, they also do a touring show where the tickets are a little more expensive. According to their website they're doing A Midsummer Nights dream and Much Ado about nothing in the UK this year, Macbeth is off to Australia. 

Not the cheapest option, but certainly good value for any adults familiar with the plays who want to see something a bit different. 

HettyQ

BBC iPlayer - watch all episodes of Upstart Crow - a comedy by Ben Elton about Shakespeare's life - not strictly historically accurate but who cares.  Very funny whether you know much about his life or not.  Cast includes David Mitchell, Liza Tarbuck, Mark Heap, Harry Enfield and Paula WIlcox.  (Was Romeo & Juliet really going to be called Romeo and Ethel the Pirate's daughter .... ??)  Brilliant stuff. 

Watty1

Perhaps not a budget option but I will mention The Changeling Theatre group if you are in the South East. Tickets are £25 so a splash out but I have seen them a number of times and think this is how Shakespeare intended his plays to be performed - strolling players outdoors with the audience seated all around the  'stage' which is usually just a patch of ground.   Buy tickets on the day though as they carry on despite the weather and I've sat through Loves Labours Lost in the rain because I did not want to waste my ticket.   Most venues sell on the day.

kiss_me_now9

HettyQ said:

BBC iPlayer - watch all episodes of Upstart Crow - a comedy by Ben Elton about Shakespeare's life - not strictly historically accurate but who cares.  Very funny whether you know much about his life or not.  Cast includes David Mitchell, Liza Tarbuck, Mark Heap, Harry Enfield and Paula WIlcox.  (Was Romeo & Juliet really going to be called Romeo and Ethel the Pirate's daughter .... ??)  Brilliant stuff. 

David Tennant's Hamlet is also up on iPlayer, which is well worth a watch. For (much) younger viewers, there's also some Cbeebies version of As You Like It, Romeo and Juliet, Twelfth Night, Midsummer Nights Dream and a few others which are great for introducing little people to the concept of Shakespeare.