Shakespeare's plays – as you like them
Best Shakespeare productions: what's your favourite Henry VIII?
The play that burned down the Globe theatre in 1613, after a stage cannon ignited the thatch, is a potent farewell to this series, writes Michael Billington
Best Shakespeare productions: what's your favourite Tempest?
This stormy staple of the Shakespeare canon has appeared in many guises over the decades. But the great Giorgio Strehler's Italian version is Michael Billington's top pick. What's your favourite version?
Best Shakespeare productions: The Winter's Tale
This is a searing study of jealousy and a moving account of transformative magic, writes Michael Billington. What's your favourite version?
Best Shakespeare productions: what's your favourite Cymbeline?
The 2001 staging at Shakespeare's Globe, with Mark Rylance tackling a trio of roles, gave clarity to this convoluted play, writes Michael Billington
Best Shakespeare productions: Pericles
Michael Billington: This once-unloved play has become both a study of asylum seekers and a show for kids. It still has a potent theatrical magic
Best Shakespeare productions: what's your favourite Coriolanus?
Laurence Olivier on stage and Ralph Fiennes on film are Michael Billington's favourite versions of this magnificent play
Best Shakespeare productions: what's your favourite Timon of Athens?
Nicholas Hytner's staging of this unfashionable play made it a bitter fable about the precariousness of a credit culture, writes Michael Billington
Best Shakespeare productions: what's your favourite Antony and Cleopatra?
Judi Dench and Anthony Hopkins impressed Michael Billington as lovers embroiled in the sex and politics of this play. But which other double acts have ruled as Shakespeare's power couple?
Best Shakespeare productions: what's your favourite King Lear?
Paul Scofield, Derek Jacobi and John Wood all excelled in what Kenneth Tynan called a "flawed pyramid of a play". Which other actors have been every inch a king, asks Michael Billington
Best Shakespeare productions: what's your favourite Othello?
From Willard White to Adrian Lester, modern theatre has yielded some terrific Othellos – but none more so than Chiwetel Ejiofor, writes Michael Billington
Best Shakespeare productions: what's your favourite Measure for Measure?
Once regarded as salacious, Shakespeare's tale of seduction and the abuse of power has proved a natural fit for modern times, writes Michael Billington
Best Shakespeare productions: All's Well That Ends Well
The tale of a poor physician's daughter who cures a king and claims a husband as reward sits well with modern gender politics. Here are my favourite stagings, writes Michael Billington
Best Shakespeare productions: what's your favourite Troilus and Cressida?
Michael Billington: To mark Shakespeare's 450th birthday we're choosing our favourite stagings of his plays. This tragedy has come into its own in today's war-weary times, yielding many fine revivals. Which have you loved?
Best Shakespeare productions: what's your favourite Hamlet?
Michael Billington: To mark the 450th anniversary of Shakespeare's birth we're choosing our favourite versions of his plays. Here's a handful of the finest Hamlets
Best Shakespeare productions: what's your favourite Twelfth Night?
Michael Billington: This comedy demands a balance between laughter and pain – and needs a strong, all-round ensemble. Here's a handful of stagings to celebrate
Best Shakespeare productions: what's your favourite Julius Caesar?
By setting this play in a modern African state, the RSC's Gregory Doran gave its debate new urgency. Which versions of Julius Caesar have you hailed?
Best Shakespeare productions: Much Ado About Nothing
From Robert Stephens and Maggie Smith to Simon Russell Beale and Zoë Wanamaker, countless duos have sparred as Benedick and Beatrice. What's your favourite version of the play?
Best Shakespeare productions: The Merry Wives of Windsor
From Ben Kingsley's Ford to Bill Alexander's 50s-era staging, Shakespeare's only purely English comedy perfectly captures middle-class mores. Let us know the best versions you've seen, writes Michael Billington
Best Shakespeare productions: Henry IV Parts I and II
Michael Billington recalls a feast of Falstaffs including Joss Ackland, David Warner and Orson Welles. Tell us your favourite versions of these state-of-the-nation plays
Best Shakespeare productions: The Merchant of Venice
Peter O'Toole, Patrick Stewart and Antony Sher have all made stunning Shylocks – which versions of this problematic play have you been sold on?
About 35 results for Shakespeare's plays – as you like them 
