Much Ado About Nothing, Act 2, Scene 3 (Beatrice, Benedick, Hero — trimmed options) - Frequently adapted into three-handed scenes (Beatrice and Benedick’s witty cross-talk with Hero as foil). Many productions cut or redistribute lines; choose the “gulling” scenes for even exchange.
As You Like It, Act 3, Scene 2 (Rosalind as Ganymede, Orlando, Celia)
Playful argument about love and testing; Rosalind drives the scene, Orlando responds, Celia comments and grounds the action.
Twelfth Night, Act 2, Scene 5 (Sir Toby, Maria, Sir Andrew; or compress to Sir Toby, Maria, Sir Andrew/—better as three) - Comic plotting and insults; Maria and Sir Toby dominate with Sir Andrew as foil — lines are plentiful for each when staged as three.
Julius Caesar, Act 3, Scene 2 - Mark Antony, Brutus, Octavius — choose adapted three-actor version - The funeral speeches can be staged to emphasize the shifting rhetorical control among three speakers; requires careful cutting but yields balanced exchange.
Othello, Act 3, Scene 3 - Othello, Iago, Desdemona - Central dramatic engine of the play. Iago manipulates, Othello struggles, Desdemona pleads — strongly balanced emotional and verbal weight across three roles.
King Lear, Act 1, Scene 4 - Lear, Kent (in disguise), Fool - Short, intense scene with Lear’s authority challenged and two attendants speaking truth in different registers. The Fool and Kent both have substantial speaking turns opposite Lear.
Richard II, Act 3, Scene 2 - Bolingbroke, Mowbray, Northumberland - Parliamentary/political maneuvering with argumentative exchanges; good for three strong character voices and rhetorical turns.
Henry IV, Part 1, Act 3, Scene 2 - Hotspur, Worcester, Northumberland - Pre-battle plotting and family tension. Lines are split across hotspur’s passion and the two elder nobles’ counsel.
The Merchant of Venice, Act 3, Scene 2 - Portia, Nerissa, Bassanio — or Portia, Nerissa, Gratiano in variations - Negotiation over the casket test gives each character distinct speeches and reactions; easy to balance with small cuts.
And much more bitter, but still charged, the "to a nunnery" scene from Hamlet, III.1: Hamlet
And a bonus, very different scene for two women: the dialogue in French between Alice and Katharine in Henry V, III.4: SCENE IV. The FRENCH KING's palace. It's got some great dirty bilingual puns.