Has there ever been an attempt to do a modern "novelisation" of Shakespeare's plays?

58008@lemmy.world to No Stupid Questions@lemmy.world – 40 points –

We get novelisation of films, but what about plays? I know I can freely read his plays anywhere online, but surely reading a script is less ideal than reading a novelised version written for people who were born sometime after Bach, assuming you're not planning a word-for-word performance yourself of course.

I don't even enjoy reading the scripts for my favourite films, and I understand all of the words, phrasings and allusions in those. With Shakespeare, I need to do a 4-year college course just to know what the fuck he's on about.

This isn't me being anti-intellectual, I respect anyone who can read through Shakespeare and enjoy it, it's more about life being too fucking short and I'd like to experience the stories in a less torturous manner if possible.

If this has been attempted, can you recommend any authors?

Cheers!

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It was the Leonardo DiCaprio version, wasn't it?

Naw, musta been Warm Bodies.

Dude, I made it like 80% of the way through that movie before I noticed it was Romeo and Juliet. I felt so dumb when it hit me.