Plays

To me, watching plays is as important as reading them as this is the form they were intended for. I especially enjoy seeing the works of playwrights such as Shakespeare and Wilde revamped on stage by small, independent theatre groups. 

Every summer for the past three years, I've gone to see one or more plays performed by a group called Chapter House. Their plays are always outdoors, usually done at the castle near where I live or outside of a manor house. It's always cold and often raining, but everyone who attends is cheerful; we hide under our umbrellas, snuggle up in blankets, and enjoy the play. 

From what I've seen, Chapter House have mostly performed Shakespeare, including 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', 'The Taming of the Shrew', and 'Romeo and Juliet'. Their other plays include Oscar Wilde's 'The Importance of Being Earnest', and Elizabeth Gaskell's 'Cranford', which they adapted from the novel. Though the quality of their plays is generally excellent, they have a unique adeptness for comedy; the written jokes become funnier in their hands, and they add their own touches here and there.

Of course, these experiences are very different to that of seeing the Royal Shakespeare Company take on 'Hamlet' or 'Macbeth'. But both are supremely dissimilar to reading the plays. 

Drama is intended for the stage. While reading a play is certainly just as enjoyable, and perhaps more suited to critical analysis, much of the emotion and intent of the piece is only preserved in the stage production. When reading 'Hamlet', I was able to identify themes and discuss the language use -- but it wasn't until I saw the play on stage that I truly understood Hamlet's anguish, Claudius' machiavellean nature, or Laertes' reconciliation at the end of the play. Yes, each version of play on stage will have its differences from Shakespeare's original text, but it will also be more accessible and more intelligible to a modern audience. 

So certainly, plays should be read, but we mustn't forget that they were always meant to be watched.