Top 5 Under-Appreciated Shakespearean Plays

Written by Ashleigh Gardner

April 25, 2017

Even though Shakespeare is the most celebrated playwright on the planet (not to mention in history), there are still a few of his works that get forgotten when his name is mentioned. Sure, we know about Hamlet and Julius Caesar and Romeo and Juliet, but the forgotten ones…those deserve some love too!

Merry Wives of Windsor

This comedy about two women who are seduced by one man is one of my favorite Shakespearean plays. It isn’t usually done by high schools or colleges because, for the most part, it requires an older cast, but its comedy lands with every audience. Sir John Falstaff (of Henry IV fame) attempts, fruitlessly, to fool two women, Mistress Page and Mistress Ford, into having an affair with him — behind both of their backs. When Mistresses Page and Ford find out, they trick him multiple times to get him to stop pursuing them, including making him hide in a laundry basket full of smelly clothes, dumping him in a river, and making him dress in drag as Mistress Ford’s obese aunt.

Find monologues here.

Timon of Athens

This play was probably authored along with Thomas Middleton, and it’s one of Shakespeare’s problem plays (plays that have elements of comedy and tragedy, but aren’t strictly one or the other). Timon, a rich and naive lord in Athens, distributes his wealth at a banquet to people he thinks are his friends, but Timon soon finds out from his long-time friend and steward, Flavius, that his land has been sold, leaving him with nothing. Forced to flee the city and his creditors, he winds up in a cave with two prostitutes, a mound of gold, and a hatred for mankind. Even though it’s not the same story, Timon of Athens mirrors a few elements of King Lear: possession and sudden loss of wealth and power, a loyal friend, betrayals, and a drastic perspective change on the part of the main character. Timon of Athens is like King Lear out of left field.

Find monologues here.

Measure for Measure

This was the very first Shakespearean play I saw live (at the Orlando Shakespeare Theatre, then Festival). Another problem play of Shakespeare’s, Measure for Measure revolves around Isabella, a novice nun, and her brother Claudio. Claudio has gotten his girlfriend pregnant, which a crime punishable by death in Vienna. In order to get Claudio’s sentence revoked, Isabella visits Angelo, a man ruling Vienna in the Duke’s absence. Angelo gives Isabella two options: she can choose to sleep with Angelo and break her maiden vows to save her brother, or she can refuse and let her brother die. That’s the drama. The comedy? A couple of scenes that take place in a brothel including the appearance of comedic characters named Pompey (a pimp), Lucio (a fop), and Froth (an idiot gentleman).

Find monologue here.

Cymbeline

Though “Cymbeline” sounds like a girl’s name, it’s not! King Cymbeline of Britain has a daughter, Innogen (or Imogen depending on the version you pick up), who secretly marries her boyfriend, Posthumus. To punish her, King Cymbeline banishes Posthumus to Italy and makes Innogen stay in Britain (Innogen must make an heir to the throne). The Queen, King Cymbeline’s second wife, plans to set up her son, Cloten, with Innogen, creating a weird step-brother-step-sister marriage. In Italy. Posthumus meets Iachimo, who bets Posthumus he can seduce Innogen back in Britain. Through some scheming, Iachimo convinces Posthumus he’s taken Innogen’s virginity, and Posthumus tells his servant to kill Innogen at Milford Haven (where he’s told Innogen to travel to). Innogen, dressed like a boy, then meets her two long-lost twin brothers in a cave. It’s like As You Like It and Two Gentlemen of Verona made a baby.

Find monologues here.

King John

My favorite character in King John is Lady Constance, specifically for a monologue in Act III, Scene 1 when she sits on the ground and refuses to move: “here I and sorrows sit; Here is my throne, bid kings come bow to it.” King John begins with a claim from France’s King Philip that King John’s nephew, Arthur, should take the throne (because Arthur’s father, Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany, was King John’s brother). That would automatically, according to the laws of primogeniture, make Arthur the next in line for the throne. King John refuses, and so France and England go to war. Bada bing, bada boom. King John isn’t one of the most popular history plays because he’s not popular or heroic. Plus, all the stuff that happened during his actual reign, like Robin Hood and the signing of the Magna Carta, is left out. King John may not be as entertaining as watching a hunchback’d villain take over the crown, but the female roles in this show take the cake.

Find monologues here.

BONUS ROUND: Two Noble Kinsmen

A weird, warlike-nearly-Midsummer-Night’s-Dream-esque play, Two Noble Kinsmen involves two best friends, Arcite and Palamon (also cousins), who must fight in a battle they don’t believe in. When they’re arrested by the enemy in Thebes, they see the Athenian princess Emilia outside their prison window and both fall instantly in love with her. The men turn into bitter rivals, and when Arcite escapes prison, he wins a wrestling match. His reward? Becoming Emilia’s bodyguard. The jailer’s daughter who has fallen in love with Palamon helps free him. Palamon chases Emilia and Arcite into the woods, and the jailer’s daughter goes mad when Palamon rejects her. The play ends with a funeral and a wedding in true problem play fashion. A mashup of Two Gentlemen of Verona and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Except somebody dies at the end.

Find monologues here.



More Shakespeare? Yes, please!

Ashleigh Gardner received her AA in Theatre/Drama/Dramatic Arts from Valencia College and her Bachelors Degree in English Literature and Masters Degree in Literary, Cultural, and Textual Studies from the University of Central Florida. She is a playwright, an actor, and PerformerStuff.com’s Editor.
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