Task 23: Read a Play

[Leanne]

I read Oscar Wilde's Salomé for this task - very short and sweet!

[Paulette]

Just finished "Pygmalion" (penguin classics version) by George Bernard Shaw - ISBN 13 - 978-0141439501
with an introduction by Nicholas Grene is Professor of English Literature at Trinity College, Dublin, and an epilogue by Shaw.
This paperback version is highly recommended!

[Mary]

I am working my way through The Complete Works of William Shakespeare. For the challenge, I read Henry VIII. Far better than I expected it to be. I would recommend it to Shakespeare and Tudor fans.

[Dixie]

I just read the play Twelve Angry Men. I'm reading so many long books that it was fun to read a short, snappy play. And it was great. I've loved the movie for many years and the play was a real pleasure to read.

[Toria]

I read Salome. I was looking for something else entirely when I happened across it. It's an interesting version to say the least though it may not be for everyone.

[Toria]

Leanne wrote: "I read Oscar Wilde's Salomé for this task - very short and sweet!"

So did I.

[Wellington]

For this challenge I chose to do Arcadia by Tom Stoppard. I attempted to read this first, but had a hard time so I switched to an audiobook. It was read by several actors and had some sound effects too. It was a lot of fun with quite a bit of humor and some mystery.

[Ashley]

I just finished The Sunset Limited by Cormac McCarthy. It was pretty good throughout, but the ending is what really stuck with me.

[Krista]

I dislike plays. Too many horrible memories of high school AP English class and a teacher that had gotten bored with teaching and didn't really care about it. Anyway, I'm grasping at straws here on how to complete this task with something I would actually enjoy.

Thoughts anyone on listening to a radio play?
Husband surprised me on a trip to family last month with The Diary of River Song: Series 1

[Wellington]

I listened to Arcadia by Tom Stoppard. I think it might have been done similar to a BBC radio show. I enjoyed it a lot and at the end it had a discussion about how science was mixed into the story .

[Wellington]

Dana Belden
I listened to Arcadia by Tom Stoppard. I think it might have been done similar to a BBC radio show. I enjoyed it a lot and at the ed it had a discussion about how science was mixed into the story

Krista wrote: "I dislike plays. Too many horrible memories of high school AP English class and a teacher that had gotten bored with teaching and didn't really care about it. Anyway, I'm grasping at straws here on..."

[Jessica]

When it is released this summer, I will gladly be reading Harry Potter and the Cursed Child for this task - and for my own pleasure! :)

[Doc.]

I read two plays by Tennessee Williams: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and The Glass Menagerie.
Really liked the first one. Williams' writing is wonderfully lyrical.

[Katie]

I wanted to cross this over with the challenge to read a book where the main character has a mental illness, since a play where the main character has a mental illness sounded very interesting. So a friend of mine directed me to The Boys Next Door, which turned out to be quite an interesting read.
The characters were really enjoyable, and there is even a film version to watch afterwards.

[Erin]

I read The Glass Menagerie... kicking it old school.

[andrea]

Jessica wrote: "When it is released this summer, I will gladly be reading Harry Potter and the Cursed Child for this task - and for my own pleasure! :)"

Oh, that's brilliant! It didn't even cross my mind - thanks for the suggestion!

[Julia]

Krista said: I dislike plays.

Which I find sad, as a theatrical- type person, and sometimes teacher, who reads a lot plays. I would say yes to plays that have been recorded. Look for Alien Voices, it is a group of Star Trek- allied actors who do great mostly science fiction group audio books. R.U.R. by Karel Čapek started life as a play and it's where the word 'robot' comes from.

[Nancy]

I've been taking an online course through FutureLearn called Shakespeare and His World. It's not a literature class per se, although we discuss a play each week. I'm reading some of the plays and watching movies or filmed versions of the others. For this challenge item I decided to list The Merchant of Venice, one of those for which I read the text.

[Sapiophial]

I read the libretto to Hamilton for this challenge. Actually, I realized it would qualify for this challenge just today, but read the libretto along with the recording as I was obsessing a couple months ago.

[Snowynight]

Ashley wrote: "I just finished The Sunset Limited by Cormac McCarthy. It was pretty good throughout, but the ending is what really stuck with me."

I have just finished it too based on your rec. I really like how natural the flow of conversation is and there is really no real resolutions to the characters' debate. I didn't know that he also wrote No Country for Old Men when I started, but come to think of it it seems obvious: they both explore similar themes with a powerful story with a tight writing style.

[quietprofanity]

Daena wrote: "Leaning toward The Phantom of the Opera."

Unless you're reading the musical book/script, that's actually just a novel. (Although I'd recommend reading the former, because I don't think the novel itself is very good.)

[quietprofanity]

Like half of everyone here, I read Shakespeare, but I decided to do something super-ambitious I wanted to do for awhile and read the History Cycle (plus Merry Wives of Windsor) in sequence. I reviewed it here.

[Megz]

I read Krismis van Map Jacobs by Adam Small. It is Afrikaans protest-theatre set in Apartheid South Africa. The playwright just died this past weekend; he was a stalwart in South African literature, language and political circles. The play was good. Very dark and complex.

[Julia]

For my play I reread Our Town by Thornton Wilder. It doesn't get dated-- at all.

I'm currently reading and loving Doctor Who: The Shakespeare Notebooks by Justin Richards. It begins with a 50 page version of "Macbeth" with the Doctor, Jamie and Zoe, instead of the witches, then the murderers and a doctor. I'm not sure how well it would work were the reader not a Whovian and a Shakespeare fan, but for me it's great.

[Mary Sue]

I chose The Glass Menagerie for this task. I remember seeing the film in my teen years. This was a very quick, easy read, and I enjoyed it very much.

[Danielle]

Just finished Harry Potter and the Cursed Child for this task. It was great reading about the characters as adults, but I didn't think the 8th story is needed. I still want to see the stage show though!

[Arlene]

Can you read The Cursed Child if you haven't read the Harry Potter novels?

*dons tin hat and awaits the 'OMG YOU'VE NEVER READ HARRY POTTER?' deluge*

[Doc.]

Arlene wrote: "Can you read The Cursed Child if you haven't read the Harry Potter novels?

*dons tin hat and awaits the 'OMG YOU'VE NEVER READ HARRY POTTER?' deluge*"

No, you can't. Too many throwbacks to previous books so you would require context.

Haha, I'll spare you but you are missing out, you know? :)

[Arlene]

S. wrote:

No, you can't. Too many throwbacks to previous books so you would require context.

Haha, I'll spare you but you are missing out, you know? :)

I might make reading the Harry Potter books my 2017 challenge

[Mindy]

I just read "Othello" by Shakespeare. I knew the basic idea of the story, but had never read it.

[Britany]

Finished by J.K. Rowling- 5 Stars.

Reunited and it feels so good....

My Review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Rachel]

I just started Harry Potter and the Cursed Child for this as well.

[Nancy]

Mindy wrote: "I just read "Othello" by Shakespeare. I knew the basic idea of the story, but had never read it."

I'm currently listening to a free audio version of Othello. I had taken an online course on Shakespeare and his world this spring and Othello was one of the plays we discussed. I didn't get around to reading it then but was determined to read it and the others we discussed as soon as possible. I'm not reading it for this task since I used one of the other class reads, Merchant of Venice. However, it might qualify for an item on the Pop Sugar reading challenge, a book at least 100 years older than you. I'm not sure I consider a play to be a "book," but with so many items left to go on both challenges, I probably won't be too picky! Othello is wonderful, and so heartbreaking.

[Megan]

I just finished Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, which I loved! I'd originally planned to read something by Tennessee Williams for this category, so I may still add one of his plays to my TBR list for this year.

[Meghan]

Read Proof by David Austen. Short and sweet. Took it a little to heart that at my age (early 40s) that my most creative years are behind me--and I don't have a lot to show for it. But whatever.

[Nadine in California]

Meghan wrote: "Read Proof by David Austen. Short and sweet. Took it a little to heart that at my age (early 40s) that my most creative years are behind me--and I don't have a lot to show for it. But whatever."

I thought the movie was good too, although I haven't read the play. I prefer to think that diminishing creativity after age 30 only applies to prodigies. So I'm safe - and not because I'm under 30.....

[Ashley]

I jumped on the bandwagon and went with Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts 1 & 2 for this task. I loved it! As I'm sure plenty of folks have pointed out, this story doesn't really feel like the original series (at least, not to me it didn't) - and that's a good thing. We have plenty of winks and nods to the original storyline, but this tale stands on it's own. I really enjoyed it and would love to one day see the stage performance - definitely recommend!

[[deleted user]]

If anyone is still looking for suggestions, I read The Mousetrap by Agatha Christie. Great for fans of Christie and/or mysteries, and its snowy setting makes for a great winter read!

[Bianca]

I have read 'burning bright'by john steinbeck. a nice short play/novelette