PlayShakespeare

A new link in our Shakespeare section in the sidebar is to Playshakespeare, which launched on April 23. It calls itself 'the ultimate free Shakespeare resource', and includes the texts of all the plays, useful links to a huge variety of Shakespeare organisations, companies and festivals, a discussion forum, and reviews of new productions, including the new Kenneth Branagh film of As You Like It - 2 stars out of 5 :-

"It is a shame that such a fine cast has been wasted on what finally amounts to a superficial and sloppy artistic vision, especially when Branagh is so well-known for his attention to detail in other Shakespeare films such as Henry V, Much Ado About Nothing, and Hamlet. In the end, As You Like It is an unfocused, misguided, and meandering mess. A shame, really, because at its heart lies a core group of actors who bring a lot of joy and freshness to the table."

There is also a fact page, including the biggest parts in the plays - by % of lines, in order, the top six are Hamlet, Timon of Athens, Henry V, Richard III, Iago and Vicentio of Measure for Measure, and by number of lines are Hamlet, Richard III, Iago, Henry V and Othello.

You can vote on your favourite play - the poll is currently headed, in order, by Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth and Hamlet.