Bethany asked Jasper Fforde:

Who are your favourite Shakespearean characters and why?

Jasper Fforde I think probably Richard III. It's probably the one I am most familiar with, having seen the Olivier version a lot of times. Oddly, McKellan's is far, far, better - the gold standard, I think - but I somehow enjoy the outrageous hamminess of the 1955 version, especially as everyone aside from Olivier is playing it dead straight. Olivier's Richard III is such a gorgeously pantomime villain, sort of like Gordon Gecko, Dexter and Frank Underwood all rolled into one.

The gravedigger is good fun, too - Billy Crystal does it very well in the Brannagh version. Mind you, it's really in the interpretation. I've never been a fan of Falstaff or the 'The Merry Wives of Windsor', but then I went and saw the Oddsocks production, and it was superb. There was a 'Two Gentlemen of Verona' I saw once at Stratford, too, back in the 90s. Not Will's best, but this version was excellent. It was set in the thirties and was notable for one of the actors doing a key speech (I forget which) while slicing a melon - and finishing the slicing as he finished the speech. There was a spontaneous ripple of applause. I think what I'm realising here is that the players, interpretation and direction are everything. In strong, firm and inspiring hands, any character can be brilliant - even Osric, although I'm not holding my breath.

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