Showing results by author "William Shakespeare" in All Categories

Justice, mortality, mercy in Vienna, dichotomy between corruption and purity. Some rise by sin, and some by virtue fall. Mercy and virtue prevail, as the play does not end tragically, with virtues such as compassion and forgiveness being exercised at the end of the production. This edition of Measure for Measure is an adaptation of Shakespeare's eponymous drama, narrated in plain modern English, capturing the very essence and key elements of the original Shakespeare work.

A comedic romance of mistaken identity, Twelfth Night begins with a shipwreck, splitting up Viola and her twin brother, Sebastian. Alone in a strange land, Viola disguises herself as a male servant, Cesario, in order to work for the Duke Orsino. Orsino is in love with Lady Olivia, but it is Cesario whom Olivia falls for. A farcical tale of misplaced love, confusion, gender-swapping and aspiration, Twelfth Night remains one of Shakespeare’s best-loved and inventive comedies....

The Merchant of Venice (by William Shakespeare) starring David Serero as Shylock. Adapted in a Jewish Sephardi style.

Twelfth Night centres on the twins Viola and Sebastian, who are separated in a shipwreck. Viola, disguised as Cesario, falls in love with Duke Orsino, who in turn is in love with the Countess Olivia. Upon meeting Viola, Countess Olivia falls in love with her, thinking she is a man.

William Shakespeare's classic comedy of the merciless Shylock, a Jew despised by Christians who gains power over his nemesis after a bond loan goes awry - with the forfeit of the bond being a pound of flesh.

Shakespeare's King Lear ranks with Sophocles' Oedipus as a tragic hero destroyed by his own good intentions. From the moment when Lear unfolds his darker purpose, we are drawn into an ineluctable chain of events that leads through betrayal, deceit, destructive family conflict, reconciliation, despair, and death. Considered by many to be the most grueling of Shakespeare's tragedies.

The ghost of the king of Denmark tells his son Hamlet to avenge his murder by killing the new king, Hamlet's uncle. Hamlet feigns madness, contemplates life and death and seeks revenge. His uncle, fearing for his life, also devises plots to kill Hamlet. The play ends with a duel, during which the king, queen, Hamlet's opponent and Hamlet himself are all killed.

A Midsummer Night's Dream is one of Shakespeare's best early works: an airy, romantic romp in the woods among bumbling rustics, temporarily star-crossed lovers, and the charming fairies who bewitch them all. Drawing on a popular English folk legend and annual, Shakespeare weaves a chaotic and comical tale of misunderstanding, mischief, and magic in which, like the dream-state it mimics, no harm is permanent and all is pleasantly resolved by the play's end.

Shakespeare's narrative poem, read by The Marlowe Society.

An award winning Drama from SmartPass. Unabridged with guided description to set the scene and fill in visual moments.

This collection combines the Shakespeare classics of As You Like It, Shakespeare's classic pastoral comedy with hidden identities and, Hamlet, the epic Shakespearean tragedy of palace intrigue. Both are told in an age-appropriate manner that preserves the story, but makes it accessible and free from adult themes.

A solo recording of Julius Caesar in an American dialect.

An excellent recording of one of Shakespeare's best loved tragedies. Many consider Cleopatra to be Shakespeare's most complex female role. The play follows Cleopatra's relationship with Mark Antony from the Sicilian Revolt to Cleopatra's suicide in the Final War of the Roman Republic.

Love's Labour's Lost is believed to be among Shakespeare's earlier plays and was performed before Queen Elizabeth in 16th-century England. It is a comedy as the King of Narrarre and his three friends (Berowne, Dumaine, and Longaville) take an oath to avoid the company of women for three years. The arrival of the Princess of France and her ladies in waiting quickly disrupts their scheme. The result is a level of confusion common to Shakespearean comedies.

William Shakespeare, long hailed as history's greatest dramatic writer, has been lauded for his mastery of poetic expression, his insight into the human condition, and his deep exploration into the psyche and motivations of his characters.

King Lear has three daughters, Goneril, Regan, and the youngest, the good Cordelia. The King asks his daughters how much they love him. and thrives on excessive empty words of flattery from two of them and bristles with anger when plain speaking Cordelia does not wish to participate in such falsity. The King banishes her - and thereafter unfolds the tragedy of his own undoing.

This is a full-cast, unabridged performance with comprehensive commentary and analysis, enabling any student to fully understand and appreciate the play. Judge for yourself whether Lear is "a man more sinned against than sinning" in this moral tale that pits wisdom and age against ambition and youth. Experience and examine the power of Shakespeare's most cruel and violent tragedy.

Award winning actor Sir Michael Redgrave leads a full-cast performance of Shakespeare's dramatic comedy.

Witness a tale of love, fairies, and betrayal in this classic tale. Theseus, duke of Athens, is preparing for his marriage when Hermia, and her father, Egeus, burst into his court and beg for Theseus’s judgment regarding whom Hermia, Egeus’s, daughter, should marry. Theseus tells Hermia she must marry Demetrius, even though she really loves Lysander.

Julius Caesar triumphantly returns to Rome, where he is met by betrayal, conspiracy, and, ultimately, assassination, followed by Mark Antony's revenge on the plotters. The drama is also the story of Marcus Brutus and his struggle between the conflicting demands of his friendship with Caesar and his loyalty to Roman ideals.