“I never did, and as far as I know still don’t, understand one word Shakespeare wrote.”
Hubby and I watched some PBS show about Shakespeare’s plays, and one thing I really noticed was that the British actors, for some incomprehensible reason, make the language much more understandable. It really stood out for me.
And of course they were meant to be performed, not merely read, so in addition to the words you get the visuals that make it easier to figure out what's going on. It doesn't hurt that older English often sounds more familiar than it looks, either.
(I'm assuming you're comparing read vs. acted Shakespeare, and not performances by British vs. American actors.)
People take Shakespeare too seriously. First of all, the best way to experience his work is to listen to it and watch the old movies. Some of the jokes fall flat because we’re not from that time and culture. It takes sometimes a second listening to feel the passion in the tragedies. They’re my favorite although actually my favorite Shakespeare play is The Merchant of Venice and technically it is not a tragedy although Shylock is a very tragic figure. Another alchemy theme.