Recommended Plays to Watch

I always remind my students and the teachers I train that Shakespeare wrote PLAYS, not literature. Shakespearean plays were meant to be WATCHED!  Unfortunately, there are very few modern productions of Shakespeare's plays that are family-friendly. And because I have been asked many times over which play productions are safe for the whole family to watch, I decided to include a list here on my website-- including plays our local commonwealth schools have produced. (Some directed by me, some directed by others.)

Of course, I have not included ALL of Shakespeare's plays here, but hopefully, this list will give you a good place to start. 

​All links go to Netflix or YouTube. 

As You Like It
2013 Homeschool Youth Production
St. George Homeschool Group

• 1936 Production with Laurence Olivier

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Hamlet 

• 1948 Production with Laurence Olivier
• 1980 BBC Production*
• 1990 Production with Mel Gibson* 

(*NOTE: I have yet to find a completely clean modern version of Hamlet. There seems to be one scene that every director feels needs to be racy, and that is the scene when Hamlet confronts his mother in her bedroom. After Hamlet kills Polonius during that scene, I recommend that you skip the rest of that scene and move on to the next one. This is true for the two starred versions above.)

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Julius Caesar*

• 1953 Production with Marlon Brando
• 1970 Production with Charlton Heston
• 1979 BBC Production

(*Julius Caesar is a tragedy with some blood, suicide, and intrigue, but it should be okay for children above age 12 who are not too sensitive.)

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A Midsummer Night's Dream

• 2021 Family-Friendly Community Production
• 1981 BBC Production
• 2009 Homeschool Youth Production

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Othello*

• 1965 Production with Laurence Olivier
• (I have not seen this one! It is unrated, so viewer beware.)
• 1981 BBC Production

*This play is about adultery, jealousy and revenge. It is not recommended for children.

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Romeo and Juliet*

• 1936 Production
• 1978 BBC Production

*There are many versions of this play, but few clean ones. The two listed above are family-friendly.

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The Taming of the Shrew

• -1967 Production with Elizabeth Taylor
• - 1980 BBC Production

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The Comedy of Errors

• 1983 BBC Production
• 2011 Homeschool Production (Part 1)
• 2011 Homeschool Production (Part 2)​​

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Henry V

• 1948 Production with Laurence Olivier
• 1989 Production with Kenneth Brannaugh

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Macbeth*

• 1983 BBC Production

(*Macbeth is a violent play-- there's no getting around it. The version listed above has some sad and bloody moments, it should be okay for kids above age 12 who are not too sensitive.)

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The Merchant of Venice

• 1​980 BBC Production

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Much Ado About Nothing

• 2015 Homeschool Youth Production
• *1993 Production with Emma Thompson and Kenneth Brannaugh ​

*The 1993 version has some racy scenes that can be skipped over, but it will require a vigilant parent sitting with the children viewers to forward scenes at the correct times. 

1. The introduction, when the family goes back to the house to bathe, has NUDITY in it. It should be skipped until the soldiers enter and greet the host.
2. During the masked ball, Borachio and the maid pair off and there is a brief moment that needs to be skipped. It happens FAST, so be aware.
3. The scene where John and the Prince take Claudio to show him that Hero is not virtuous. A sexual scene is played out from a no-so-far distance, complete with sounds , so fast forward to the next scene. 

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The Tempest
​​- 2014 Homeschool Youth Production
​- St. George Homeschool Group
- 1980 BBC Production

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Twelfth Night

• 1996 Production* with Imogen Stubbs ​(*I advise viewers to skip the scene where the captain helps Viola change her clothes to look like a man. It's near the beginning, after the shipwreck.)
• 2008 Homeschool Youth Production

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Two Gentlemen of Verona

• 1983 BBC Production
• ​2018 Homeschool Group (Part 1)

2018 Homeschool Group (Part 2)​​​​

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