I thought the recent Midsummer Night's Dream was well done. It is set in the late 1800s. Solid performances from Kevin Kline as Bottom, Stanley Tucci as Puck, and the rest of the "rude mechanicals". The unintentionally comical presentation of Pyramis and Thisbe contains an excellent bit, where the actor who reluctantly agreed to portray Thisbe transcends the script and moves the audience to tears. I have never seen it played that way before, and that points up a fact about Shakespeare : There is a depth and dimension to his words that make them work on a variety of levels.

I also enjoyed the recent film of Twelfth Night with Ben Kingsley doing excellent work as the Clown, mixing humor, sarcasm, and pathos in equal measures.