One of the best Shakespearean experieinces one can have is to go to Ashland, Oregon...they have a troupe of world class actors performing Shakespeare, with humour and with ferocity, but never with self importance....I saw them do Henry V and Twelfth Night a few years ago and it just blew my mind.

The main problem with Shakespeare is that people tend to over act his play, Richard Burton comes to mind...but the troupe in Ashland get him just right and it's funny how after a couple of minutes your ear gets accustomed to the language and you can understand what they're saying and what's going on.

Also Ashland is kind of neat, because an actor with a major role in one play will have a minor role in a few other plays, so no one person stays in the spotlight. The stages are also done traditionally, with different levels.