Choose April's... Shakespeare play?!

Something a little different this month for the Classical Book Club!

Hey!

We’re going to do something a little different in April.

Firstly, I hope you enjoyed reading The Picture of Dorian Gray. Only a small number of us shared thoughts, so even if it’s just one reply/your thoughts from when you read it previously, I’d love if you could share something in the Substack chat!

Otherwise, this month I’ve got something a little different planned.

Since it’s Shakespeare Day in the UK on April 23rd, I thought we could read/watch a Shakespeare play. If you choose to watch—which is likely what I’ll be doing—then it’ll only take you a couple of hours at most in the month of April. Even to read they are shorter than many novels.

And don’t worry about having to catch it in theatres—I’ve picked four plays with plenty of portrayals that are accessible through different streaming channels.

Scroll down for brief summaries. I’ve tried to keep it light on descriptions, just in case you’re unaware of what happens. Even if the plays are over 400 years old, nobody wants a spoiler!

And be sure to vote in the poll!

Hamlet

The play centres around the main character, Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. When Hamlet’s father dies, Hamlet’s uncle, Claudius, marries his mother and takes the throne for himself. Hamlet’s father appears to the young prince as a ghost, telling his son that he was murdered by Claudius, and he wants Hamlet to kill Claudius to avenge his death.

The Tempest

The Tempest is a play about magic, betrayal, love and forgiveness. It is set on an island somewhere near Italy where Prospero, the one-time Duke of Milan, and his beautiful daughter, Miranda, live with a sprite called Ariel and a strange wildman called Caliban.

Romeo & Juliet

Romeo & Juliet is the story of two lovesick teenagers whose relationship is—here's the source of the tension—forbidden. Both Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet come from wealthy families in the kingdom of Verona (in our Italy), but the families have been fighting bitterly for years.

Macbeth

Macbeth is the shortest of Shakespeare’s tragedies, without diversions or subplots. It chronicles Macbeth’s seizing of power and subsequent destruction, both his rise and his fall the result of blind ambition.