Author

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare
  • When veteran award-winning radio theater producer Joe Bevilacqua (Joe Bev) was a student in his final semester at Kean College (now Kean University) in 1982, he designed his own course, in which he produced and directed a radio version of Hamlet.

    Casting Kean faculty and students, and portraying the melancholy Danish prince himself, Bevilacqua not only completed his nearly four-hour radio adaption of Shakespeare’s greatest work, he did so while carrying a double major in speech-theater-media-communication and English; producing, acting in, and sometimes writing radio plays for the WKNJ Radio Theater he founded at the college station; rehearsing and portraying Dr. Martn Dysart in Equus on the Kean Stage; and working twenty hours per week as the assistant manager of Kean’s Writing and Math Lab.

    After graduating summa cum laude, Bevilacqua saw his production of Hamlet picked up and distributed by the National Federation of Community Broadcasters (NFCB) and aired on public radio stations nationwide.

    Bevilacqua went on to become one of the most prolific radio drama producers in the United States, as well as an on-camera actor in such films as The Fly Room and The Better Angels and in television shows, including portraying British General Bernard Montgomery in the History Channel’s The Wars and the head of NBC in 1931 for HBO’s Boardwalk Empire.

    The master reels of Joe Bevilacqua’s radio production of Hamlet were lost in the 1980s. On January 6, 2015, while going through some old files, Bevilacqua came across an NFCB newsletter listing a number of his radio dramas, including Hamlet. He then traced the NFCB collection to the University of Maryland Libraries, where it now resides.

    The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare at an uncertain date between 1599 and 1602. Set in the Kingdom of Denmark, the play dramatizes the revenge Prince Hamlet is instructed to enact on his uncle Claudius. Claudius had murdered his own brother, Hamlet’s father, and subsequently seized the throne, marrying his deceased brother’s widow, Gertrude.

    From the NFCB newsletter:

    This four-hour drama is both faithful to Shakespeare and creative in presentation. The acting is of professional quality. Joe Bev highlights the play as Hamlet by using great change of pace and dynamics, articulation and believability, along with superb vocal range. After hearing a tape of the production, veteran voice-man Daws Butler (Yogi Bear) said, “It is among the best Hamlets I have ever heard.”

    Other highlights are the ghost’s reverb processed bass and Claudius attempting to pray after murdering the king.

    Tech is good, the acting is excellent. You will understand every word and get the full range of meaning (from tragic to comic) from the characters! Great use of sound effects and music!

    BONUS TRACK: “Another Point of View (Hamlet Revisited),” originally aired on the CBS Radio Workshop June 22, 1956.

    An analytical misrepresentation of Shakespeare’s greatest hero, with William Conrad (narrator, author), Ben Wright (Hamlet, author), and John McIntire.

  • This exciting collection of radio comedy from Waterlogg Productions features four must-listens.

    1. Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Missing Countess

    Scotland Yard is puzzled. A young countess has gone missing, and Sherlock Holmes is summoned. Accompanied by the redoubtable Watson, Holmes must juggle the clues. What does he see? Why does he instruct Watson to bring his wife to the circus three days later? And why does Watson keep sneezing? This original Holmes adventure is one of Holmes' more whimsical cases.

    2. A Joe Bev Audio Theater Sampler, Vol. 3

    This third collection of audio drama, comedy, biography, and documentary from veteran award-winning radio dramatist Joe Bevilacqua—beautifully produced with a cast of professional actors, sound effects, and music—includes We Take You Now to Grover's Mill; War of the Welles; Son of Harpo Speaks, Part 1; Homeland Security Comes to Camp Waterlogg; Akrotiri; The Unlucky Merchant; If We All Talked Like Allen Jenkins; The Village Life; Stench of the City; Huck Goes to the Moon; and If You Find an Opening, Jump In.

    3. A Joe Bev Audio Theater Sampler, Vol. 4

    This fourth volume includes Holy Smoke, or The Red-Suite Man; The Christmas That Almost Never Was; Sherlock Holmes' Creepy Christmas; A Pedro Christmas Sampler; A Call from the Storm; Edgarton Voss Steps Out But Not Too Far; Settling In; Uncle Dunkle's Umbrella, Tire, and Jalopy; Son of Harpo Speaks, Part 2; More Teaman and Friends; This Here Is Your Life, Sherlock Holmes; and Perils of the Tiger Barn.

    4. Simon Studio Presents, Vol. 1

    The Simon Studio is a training and performance theater company where actors, writers, directors, artists, and thinkers freely mix in a workshop environment. This first collection of Simon Studio Presents includes Oedipus Noir by Ralph Tyler, Dancing in the Dark by Vivian Green, The Portrait by Sarah Levine Simon, and A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare.

  • In The Tempest, long considered one of Shakespeare’s most lyrical plays, Prospero, a sorcerer, and his daughter, Miranda, have been stranded on an enchanted island for twelve years. When a shipwreck—caused by the eponymous tempest—brings enemies to the island, the stage is set for comedy, romance, and reconciliation. The Tempest embodies both seemingly timeless romance and the historically specific moment in which Europe began to explore and conquer the New World. Its poetic beauty, complexity of thought, range of characters—from the spirit Ariel and the monster Caliban to the beautiful Miranda and her prince Ferdinand—and exploration of difficult questions that still haunt us today make this play wonderfully compelling.

  • Chaos and confusion mount to a crescendo in a wild and fast-paced comedy of mistaken identity, one of Shakespeare's earliest plays.

    Young Antipholus of Syracuse is searching the world for his identical twin brother, separated from him at birth. With him is his servant Dromio, who lost his twin brother at the same time. The pair arrive in Ephesus where, unbeknownst to them, their twins are living. 

    Antipholus of Syracuse is played by David Tennant, Antipholus of Ephesus by Brendan Coyle. Alan Cox and Jason O'Mara are the two Dromios, while Niamh and Sorcha Cusack play Adriana and Luciana.

  • A play replete with puns and double-entendres, this is one of Shakespeare’s earliest and most lighthearted.

    The young king of Navarre and three of his courtiers have vowed to lock themselves away for three years of study and fasting, and to forswear the company of women for this period. No sooner is their vow made than it is tested, however, as the princess of France and three of her ladies arrive in Navarre on a diplomatic mission. The young men fall instantly and hopelessly in love, and the tension between their vow and their passion forms the subject of this charming and sparkling early comedy.

    Berowne is played by Alex Jennings and Rosaline by Emma Fielding. Samantha Bond is the princess, and Greg Wise the king of Navarre. Alan Howard plays Don Armado.

  • King John of England is pitted against the united powers of France, Brittany, Austria, and the papacy. Will England be destroyed by his fatal indecision?

    As alliances are made, broken, and remade, the paranoid and erratic John reveals his weakness and reliance on those around him—including his powerful mother Queen Elinor and Faulconbridge, the cynical and witty bastard son of the dead King Richard I.

    In this early history play, King John is played by Michael Feast, the Bastard by Michael Maloney, and Constance by Eileen Atkins.

  • Palamon and Arcite, cousins and bosom friends, are taken prisoner by Duke Theseus of Athens. While in captivity, they spy the beautiful Emilia. Both fall instantly in love with her, and their attachment to each other turns to hate. 

    This dark-edged tragicomedy is now widely regarded as having been written by Shakespeare in collaboration with John Fletcher. Composed sometime in 1613–14, The Two Noble Kinsmen is the final play in Shakespeare's dramatic career.

    Jonathan Firth plays Palamon, Nigel Cooke is Arcite, and Emilia is played by Helen Schlesinger.

  • Pericles, Prince of Tyre, undergoes a tyrant's fury, storm, and shipwreck. He wins love and suffers loss, but what is lost may also be found. 

    With the ancient poet Gower acting as narrator, we follow the adventures of Pericles from young manhood to maturity. This strange and powerful tale of loss and recovery is the first in the group of romance comedies created by Shakespeare at the end of his dramatic career.

    Sir John Gielgud plays Gower, and Nigel Terry is Pericles. Thaisa is played by Stella Gonet and Marina by Julie Cox.

  • The noble Titus returns victorious to Rome, bringing Tamora, queen of the Goths, as his captive. When one of Tamora's sons is condemned to die, she vows revenge, and, aided by the villainous Aaron, she exacts a terrible retribution, inaugurating a grim cycle of rape, murder, and cannibalism. This macabre, often brilliant tragedy comes from the earliest stage of Shakespeare's dramatic career.

    Titus is played by David Troughton and Tamora by Harriet Walter. Paterson Joseph is Aaron, and David Burke is Marcus.

  • Proteus loves Julia in Verona, Valentine loves Silvia in Milan. But when Proteus meets Silvia, he falls for her too, and the heartbroken Julia sets out in pursuit. 

    This delightful and sometimes disquieting early comedy of love lost and found offers lyrical poetry, disguise, clowning, outlaws, and a most unreliable dog.

    Proteus is played by Michael Maloney and Valentine by Damian Lewis. Silvia is Saskia Wickham, Julia is Lucy Robinson, and John Woodvine plays Launce.

  • Rome is a city divided, nobility and common people locked in mutual suspicion. The patrician Caius Marcius, later called Coriolanus, is Rome’s greatest soldier, but his proud refusal to accommodate himself to the demands of the plebeians leads to banishment and death.

    A Roman history as well as tragedy, Coriolanus is a complex and subtle exploration of the themes of absolution and compromise, both in the political world and in the life of the individual.

    Paul Jesson plays Coriolanus, and Marjorie Yates is Volumnia. Ewan Hooper plays Menenius

    ACT I
    Scene 1.
    The common people of Rome, the plebeians, are on the verge of rebellion due to the lack of grain; they blame the partricians—the Roman nobility—for their plight. They are especially bitter toward Caius Marcius, a patrician and a successful soldier, whom they regard as “the chief enemy to the people.” Menenius tries to persuade them that the patricians are acting in their best interests but when Marcius arrives he makes no attempt to disguise his contempt for the plebeians. When news comes that the Volsces have taken up arms against Rome, Marcius receives it with pleasure, believing their leader Tullus Aufidius to be a noble adversary. Sicinius and Brutus, tribunes appointed to represent the interests of the plebeians, discuss Marcius’ overweening pride.
    Scene 2. Aufidius prepares to go to war against Rome.
    Scene 3. Marcius’ mother, Volumnia, urges his wife Virgilia to glory in his warlike prowess. Valeria brings news that Marcius is about to attach the Volsces’ city of Corioles.
    Scene 4. Marcius curses the fainthearted Roman soldiers and urges them on to attack Corioles. When they refuse, he enters the enemy city single-handed. When the Romans see him alone within the walls of Corioles, they rush in to assist him.
    Scene 5. Marcius is contemptuous of the looting Roman soldiers and, despite his wounds, plunges back into the battle in search of Aufidius.
    Scene 6. Covered from head to foot in blood, Marcius announces victory at Corioles.
    Scene 7. Lartius prepares to go to the Roman camp and warns the lieutenant to guard the gates of Corioles well.
    Scene 8. Marcius and Aufidius fight.
    Scene 9. Although Marcius refuses all Cominius’ efforts to reward him with booty, the general insists that he accept the name Coriolanus, as tribute to his extraordinary bravery.
    Scene 10. Aufidius vows to destroy Marcius by any means—honorable or otherwise.

    ACT II
    Scene 1.
    The tribunes Sicinius and Brutus try to persuade Menenius that Marcius is excessively proud, but he will have none of it, accusing them of ambition and servility. Coriolanus returns to Rome in triumph and is greeted by his wife and mother. Brutus and Sicinius fear that if Coriolanus becomes consul they will be stripped of their power.
    Scene 2. The Senate has deccided to make Coriolanus consul. With great reluctance he goes, as custom requires, to solicit the citizens’ votes by displaying his battle wounds in the marketplace.
    Scene 3. Despite the awareness of some plebeians that Coriolanus has little love for the common people they recognize his nobility, and choose him for consul. Once he has gone, however, their unease resurfaces and the tribunes persuade them to revoke their votes.

    ACT III
    Scene 1.
    Coriolanus walks through Rome, discussing the news that Aufidius is again preparing to take up arms. When the tribunes warn him to go no further, Coriolanus accuses them of inciting the plebeians against him and asserts that the people did not deserve free distribution of corn because they were unwilling to defend their country in war. Menenius tries to calm him, but Coriolanus continues to rage that “gentry tile, wisdom,/Cannot conclude but by the yea and no/Of general ignorance.” Finally, Brutus orders Coriolanus’ arrest and chaos ensues as the plebeians are exhorted by the tribunes to seize Coriolanus but are beaten back by the senators. When the tribunes demand Coriolanus’ death, Menenius appeases them by saying that he will bring him to the Forum to answer their grievances.
    Scene 2. Coriolanus refuses to do as Menenius asks, but is eventually persuaded to go to the Forum by his mother Volumnia.
    Scene 3. Brutus and Sicinius are determined that Coriolanus should be brought down by the people. When he enters the Forum, he cannot contain himself and abuses the plebeians. Sicinius and Brutus announce his banishment from Rome.

    ACT IV
    Scene 1.
    Coriolanus bids a dignified farewell to friends and family.
    Scene 2. Volumnia rounds angrily on the tribunes.
    Scene 3. A Roman spy tells a Volsce of Coriolanus banishment.
    Scene 4. Coriolanus arrives in Antium and learns the whereabouts of Aufidius’ house.
    Scene 5. Coriolanus presents himself to Aufidius telling his old enemy either to kill him on the spot, or to accept his services in war against Rome. Aufidius welcomes him delightedly.
    Scene 6. The tribunes and others hear the terrible news that Coriolanus and Aufidius have invaded Roman territories.
    Scene 7. Aufidius is angered by Coriolanus’ arrogance and his growing popularity with the Volsces.

    ACT V
    Scene 1.
    After Cominius has attempted unsuccessfully to plead with Coriolanus for Rome, Menenius reluctantly agrees to approach his old friend.
    Scene 2. Coriolanus refuses to speak to Menenius.
    Scene 3. Volumnia, Virgilia, and her little son approach Coriolanus. Volumnia describes their agony at being torn between their love for Rome and for him. She begs him to negotiate a peace that is honorable to both sides and at last Coriolanus agrees.
    Scene 4. A messenger brings news that Volumnia has prevailed with Coriolanus.
    Scene 5. A Senator gives the women a rapturous welcome.
    Scene 6. Aufidius has returned to Corioles, enraged; he conspires with some of his followers to kill Coriolanus. When Coriolanus explains to the Volsces how he has brokered an honorable peace, Aufidius publicly accuses him of treachery. As the crowd rages against him, Coriolanus is killed by the conspirators.

    CAST
    Coriolanus: Paul Jesson / Menenius: Ewan Hooper / Volumnia: Marjorie Yates / Brutus: Steve Hawthorne / Sicinius: Denys Hawthorne / Aufidius: Martin Marquez / Cominius: Michael N. Harbour / Titus Lartius: Anthony Jackson / Valeria: Shirley Dixon / Virgilia: Sarah Woodward / 1st Senator: Trevor Martin / 2nd Senator: Jamie Glover / 1st Citizen: Michael Higgs / 2nd Citizen: Jonathan Tafler / Corioles Messenger: Mark Bonnar / Corioles: Philip Bretherton / 1st Soldier: Christopher Luscombe / Young Marcius: Freddie Norton

    Director: Clive Brill / Composer: Dominique Le Gendre / Production coordinators: Polly Coles and Charlotte Harvey / Sound engineer: Wilfredo Acosta / Producers: Bill Shepherd and Tom Treadwell

    TRACK LIST
    Disc 1
    Track 1: Act I, Scene i
    Track 2: Act I, Scene ii
    Track 3: Act I, Scene iii
    Track 4: Act I, Scene iv
    Track 5: Act I, Scene v
    Track 6: Act I, Scene vi
    Track 7: Act I, Scene vii
    Track 8: Act I, Scene viii
    Track 9: Act I, Scene ix
    Track 10: Act I, Scene x
    Track 11: Act II, Scene i

    Disc 2
    Track 1: Act II, Scene ii
    Track 2: Act II, Scene iii
    Track 3: Act III, Scene i
    Track 4: Act III, Scene ii
    Track 5: Act III, Scene iii

    Disc 3
    Track 1: Act IV, Scene i
    Track 2: Act IV, Scene ii
    Track 3: Act IV, Scene iii
    Track 4: Act IV, Scene iv
    Track 5: Act IV, Scene v
    Track 6: Act IV, Scene vi
    Track 7: Act IV, Scene vii
    Track 8: Act V, Scene i
    Track 9: Act V, Scene ii
    Track 10: Act V, Scene iii
    Track 11: Act V, Scene iv
    Track 12: Act V, Scene v
    Track 13: Act V, Scene vi

  • Telling his followers he is leaving the city on affairs of state, the Duke of Vienna appoints the puritanical Angelo to govern in his absence. Will Angelo prove as virtuous as he seems once power is in his hands? 

    Roaming the city disguised as a friar, the duke looks on as Angelo’s lust for the virtuous Isabella sweeps him into the corruption he has so sternly condemned in others. 

    The duke’s manipulation at last produces a happy ending for this dark comedy, with its brilliant exploration of the themes of justice and mercy.

    Roger Allam plays the duke and Simon Russell Beale is Angelo. Isabella is played by Stella Gonet.

  • Young Claudio has fallen for the lovely heiress Hero, who also loves him. Their path to the altar looks smooth, until the evil Don John intervenes. 

    All ends happily, thanks to his incompetent assassins and the lucky discoveries of the bungling constable Dogberry. Central to the play, one of Shakespeare's best-loved comedies, are Beatrice and Benedick, masters of wit and sworn foes to marriage—until a plot is hatched to bring them together.

    Beatrice is played by Saskia Reeves, while Samuel West plays Benedick. Paul Jesson is Don Pedro, Jason O'Mara is Claudio, and Abigail Docherty is Hero. Dogberry is played by Bryan Pringle.

  • King Leontes of Sicilia is seized by sudden and terrible jealousy of his wife Hermione, whom he accuses of adultery. He believes the child Hermione is bearing was fathered by his friend Polixenes, and when the baby girl is born he orders her to be taken to some wild place and left to die. Though Hermione's child escapes death, Leontes' cruelty has terrible consequences. Loss paves the way for reunion, and life and hope are born out of desolation and despair.

    One of the late romances in Shakespeare's canon, this complex work is at times tragic, at times humorous, but always entertaining and enlightening.

    Sinead Cusack plays Hermione, and Ciaran Hinda plays Leontes. Eileen Atkins is Paulina and Paul Jesson is Polixenes. Time the Chorus is played by Sir John Gielgud.

  • King Henry is married to Catherine of Aragon, but he has been smitten by the charms of the queen's maid of honor, Anne Boleyn, and is tempted to divorce his dignified and noble wife. 

    Meanwhile, the lords of England resent the influence of Henry's trusted advisor, Cardinal Wolsey, who is gradually drawing power into his own hands. As Catherine and Wolsey suffer their tragic falls, new figures rise to fill their places, but they, too, will be brought low by the inexorable sweep of time and fortune. 

    This colorful history play, possibly written in collaboration with John Fletcher, comes from the very end of Shakespeare's dramatic career.

    Paul Jesson plays Henry VIII, and Jane Lapotaire plays Queen Catherine. Timothy West is Cardinal Wolsey.

  • Mark Antony, one of the three rulers of the Roman world, has become the thrall of the fascinating Cleopatra.

    Affairs of state call Mark Antony to Rome, but the attractions of the queen of Egypt prove impossible to resist. From one of history’s greatest love stories Shakespeare builds this magnificent tragedy of the clash between love and duty.

    Cleopatra is played by Estelle Kohler, Mark Antony by Ciaran Hinds, Ian Hughes is Octavius Caesar, and David Burke is Domitius Enobarbus.

    ACT I
    Scene 1.
    Mark Antony, together with Octavius Caesar and Lepidus, is one of the three Triumvirs who rule the Roman Empire. But Antony is slavishly in love with Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt, and shows no interest in affairs of state.
    Scene 2. Members of Cleopatra’s entourage amuse themselves consulting a soothsayer. Antony learns that his wife Fulvia, who has been in rebellion against Caesar, is dead. Forces opposed to the Triumvirs are having considerable success and he finally realizes that he must leave Egypt.
    Scene 3. Antony tells Cleopatra that he intends to return to Rome.
    Scene 4. Caesar is angered by Antony’s behavior and will not be mollified by Lepidus. News floods in of their enemies’ growing strength.
    Scene 5. Cleopatra languishes in Antony’s absence.

    ACT II
    Scene 1.
    Pompey, the Triumvirs’ principal enemy, is disturbed to hear of Antony’s return to Rome. Menas remains optimistic that the insurrection of Antony’s brother and wife has soured his relations with Caesar, but Pompey foresees that divisions will be forgotten in the face of an external enemy.
    Scene 2. A tense meeting between Caesar and Antony is smoothed over by Lepidus and Agrippa, who suggest that Antony marry Caesar’s sister Octavia. Enobarbus, Antony’s trusted lieutenant, remembers Antony’s first meeting with Cleopatra; he is sure that Antony will never leave her.
    Scene 3. A soothsayer tells Antony that he cannot shine with Caesar is near. He decides to return to Egypt.
    Scene 4. Lepidus, Agrippa, and Maecenas prepare to go to war.
    Scene 5. When a messenger tells Cleopatra of Antony’s marriage to Octavia, she flies into a violent rage.
    Scene 6. Pompey invites the Triumvirs to a banquet aboard his galley. Enobarbus predicts Antony’s infidelity to Octavia and that her sighs will “blow the fire up in Caesar.”
    Scene 7. At the banquet, Menas suggests that Pompey could become master of the world if he were to order the murder of his guests. Pompey rejects the idea, but regrets that Menas has not acted on his own initiative.

    ACT II
    Scene 1.
    In Syria, Ventidius enters triumphant with the body of the son of the Parthian king. Ventidius plays down his achievement, wary of losing Antony’s favor by raising himself up too high.
    Scene 2. Enobarbus and Agrippa ridicule Lepidus’ devotion to Antony and Caesar. Octavia bids Caesar a sad farewell as she leaves for Athens with Antony.
    Scene 3. Cleopatra questions a messenger about Octavia and concludes that, being “dull of tongue, and dwarfish,” she is no threat.
    Scene 4. Antony is furious that Caesar has spoken slightingly of him and, contrary to their agreement, has gone to war against Pompey. Octavia will return to Rome in an attempt to reconcile her brother and husband.
    Scene 5. Caesar has imprisoned Lepidus for allegedly communicating with Pompey.
    Scene 6. Caesar rails against Antony’s division of the Eastern provinces among Cleopatra and her children. Octavia seeks to defend her husband, but Caesar informs her that he is now in Egypt with Cleopatra, who is levying forces for war.
    Scene 7. Despite strong advice to the contrary, Antony insists on a naval battle rather than fighting on land where he has the advantage.
    Scene 8. Caesar gives the order to meet Antony at sea.
    Scene 9. Antony positions his squadrons within view of Caesar’s battle line.
    Scene 10. Enobarbus, Scarus, and Canidius watch appalled as Cleopatra’s ships flee, followed by Antony. Canidius decides to join forces with Caesar, whilst Enobarbus, against his better judgement, remains with Antony.
    Scene 11. Back in Alexandria, Antony is riven with shame. Cleopatra claims she had not thought he would follow when she retreated. He replies, “thou knew’st too well/My heart was to thy rudder tied by the strings.”
    Scene 12. Caesar rejects Antony’s terms for surrender, but shows clemency to Cleopatra on condition that she betray her lover.
    Scene 13. Antony rages against Caesar, challenging him to single combat. Only Cleopatra’s assurance of her love finally calms him. Believing that Antony has lost his reason, Enobarbus resolves to leave him.

    ACT IV
    Scene 1.
    Caesar rejects Antony’s challenge and gives the order to do battle the next mornign.
    Scene 2. Enobarbus reproaches Antony for his melancholy words.
    Scene 3. Full of trepidation, soldiers gather for the battle.
    Scene 4. Antony prepares for battle.
    Scene 5. Antony hears that Enobarbus has gone.
    Scene 6. When Enobarbus learns that Antony has sent his treasure after him, he is struck to the heart that he has deserted a man of such nobility.
    Scene 7. The battle goes in Antony’s favor.
    Scene 8. Antony, jubilant with success, meets Cleopatra after the first day’s fighting.
    Scene 9. Enobarbus dies heartbroken.
    Scene 10. Scarus tells Antony that Caesar will attack by land and sea.
    Scene 11. Caesar gives orders for the battle.
    Scene 12. Antony loses the battle when the Egyptians desert him. He rejects Cleopatra bitterly.
    Scene 13. Cleopatra, frightened by Antony’s rage, hides in her monument and sends word that she has killed herself.
    Scene 14. When he hears of Cleopatra’s alleged death, Antony falls on his sword.
    Scene 15. Antony is carried to Cleopatra and dies.

    ACT V
    Scene 1.
    When Caesar hears of Antony’s death, he dispatches an ambassador to Cleopatra.
    Scene 2. Dolabella tells Cleopatra that Caesar intends to lead her in triumph through Rome. Caesar treats Cleopatra with courtesy, though he warns her against attempting suidice. Horrified at the thought of being exhibited in front of the Roman rabble, Cleopatra announces that she will follow Antony’s example and die. A country fellow brings Cleopatra a basket containing poisonous snakes. Crowned and robed as a queen, she clasps the snakes to her bosom and dies. Caesar, now sole ruler of the Roman world, orders that Cleopatra he buried with her Antony.

    CAST
    Mark Antony: Ciaran Hinds / Cleopatra: Estelle Kohler / Domitius Enobarbus: David Burke / Octavius Caesar: Ian Hughes / Charmian: Eve Matheson / Iras: Emma Gregory / Lepidus: Trevor Martin / Pompey: Charles Simpson / Octavia: Tracy-Ann Oberman / Eros: John McAndrew / Philo: Steve Hodson / Soothsayer: Arthur Cox / Menecrates: Michael N. Harbour / Menas: Jonathan Tafler / Scarus: Mark Bonnar / Diomedes: Will Keen / Cleopatra’s Messenger: Gary Bakewell / Alexas: Richard Durden / Mardian: Christopher Luscombe / Other parts played by David Bannerman, Sean Baker, Philip Bretherton, Anthony Jackson, Martin Marquez, Nicholas Murchie, Alisdair Simpson, and Stephen Thorne

    Director: Clive Brill / Composer: Dominique Le Gendre / Production Coordinators: Polly Coles and Charlotte Harvey / Sound Engineer: Wilfredo Acosta / Producers: Bill Shepherd and Tom Treadwell

    TRACK LIST
    Disc 1
    Track 1: Act I, Scene i
    Track 2: Act I, Scene ii
    Track 3: Act I, Scene iii
    Track 4: Act I, Scene iv
    Track 5: Act I, Scene v
    Track 6: Act II, Scene i
    Track 7: Act II, Scene ii
    Track 8: Act II, Scene iii
    Track 9: Act II, Scene iv
    Track 10: Act II, Scene v
    Track 11: Act II, Scene vi

    Disc 2
    Track 1: Act II, Scene vii
    Track 2: Act III, Scene i
    Track 3: Act III, Scene ii
    Track 4: Act III, Scene iii
    Track 5: Act III, Scene iv
    Track 6: Act III, Scene v
    Track 7: Act III, Scene vi
    Track 8: Act III, Scene vii
    Track 9: Act III, Scene viii
    Track 10: Act III, Scene ix
    Track 11: Act III, Scene x
    Track 12: Act III, Scene xi
    Track 13: Act III, Scene xii
    Track 14: Act III, Scene xiii
    Track 15: Act IV, Scene i
    Track 16: Act IV, Scene ii
    Track 17: Act IV, Scene iii
    Track 18: Act IV, Scene iv
    Track 19: Act IV, Scene v
    Track 20: Act IV, Scene vi

    Disc 3
    Track 1: Act IV, Scene vii
    Track 2: Act IV, Scene viii
    Track 3: Act IV, Scene ix
    Track 4: Act IV, Scene x
    Track 5: Act IV, Scene xi
    Track 6: Act IV, Scene xii
    Track 7: Act IV, Scene xiii
    Track 8: Act IV, Scene xiv
    Track 9: Act IV, Scene xv
    Track 10: Act V, Scene i
    Track 11: Act V, Scene ii

  • The young and virtuous physician’s daughter Helena desperately loves Count Bertram, but he regards her as beneath his notice.

    When Helena cures the king of France of a mortal illness, he rewards her with Bertram’s hand, but before their marriage can be consummated, the count flees. To win her husband back again, Helena forms a daring and resourceful plan.

    A plot to unmask the strutting soldier Parolles makes up another strand in this sometimes disturbing comedy of deception and disguise.

    ACT I
    Scene 1.
    Bertram, the young Count of Rossillion, is leaving home to take his place at the court of the King of France, who is gravely ill. Bertram bids farewell to his mother the widowed Countess, her friend the old lord Lafew and the young and virtuous Helena, daugther of a famous doctor now deceased, who lives as a dependent in the old Countess’ household. Helena is passionately in love with Bertram, though without hope because he is so far above her in birth. Parolles, a blustering soldier who has attached himself to Bertram, is also going to the French court and Helena determines to follow. She has learned the mysteries of medicine from her father; if she can cure the King, she may win Bertram’s heart.
    Scene 2. The ailing King tells of war between the Florentines and Sienese; he will give permission to any young gentleman of France who wishes to go to Italy in search of glory. Bertram arrives and the King greets him warmly.
    Scene 3. The Countess gently forces Helena to admit her love for Bertram and reveal her plan to attempt the King’s cure. The old lady kindly offers her support.

    ACT II
    Scene 1.
    Lafew announces the arrival at court of a young woman who claims to be able to heal the King. The King is deeply skeptical, but Helena persuades him to allow her to make the attempt. Should she succeed, the King is to grant her the husband of her choice.
    Scene 2. The Countess’ fool Lavatch is to be sent to the court. He claims that he has a response that will serve him in all social situations, but the Countess exposes his folly.
    Scene 3. Helena has restored the King to joyful health. He offers her the hand in marriage of any of the young lords at court, but when she chooses Bertram he recoils in horror. Angrily, the King commands Bertram to wed Helena instantly. The marriage takes place, but Bertram vows that he will never sleep with his bride and determines to steal away to the Italian wars at once.
    Scene 4. Helena receives a letter from Bertram telling her that he has been called away and ordering her to take leave of the King.
    Scene 5. Lafew warns Bertram that Parolles is a hollow sham. Helena enters and Bertram dismisses her curtly, instructing her to return to the Countess.

    ACT III
    Scene 1.
    The Duke of Florence prepares to welcome the young Frenchmen who come to fight on his behalf.
    Scene 2. Helena has received a letter from Bertram: until she can get the ring from his finger, which he has vowed never to remove, and produce a child that she has conceived by him, she will never be able to call him husband.
    Scene 3. The Duke of Florence, impressed by Bertram’s military promise, has given him an important command.
    Scene 4. The Countess has received a letter from Helena telling her that she has gone on a pilgrimage to atone for her sin in aspiring to Bertram’s love and freeing him from his responsibility for her. The Countess bitterly deplores her son’s arrogance and blindness.
    Scene 5. Helena has come to Florence where she meets a kindly widow and her beautiful daughter, Diana. The widow tells her that Bertram has fought heroically in the war but also that he has been attempting to seduce Diana.
    Scene 6. The French soldiers hatch a plot to convince Bertram of Parolles’ cowardliness; pretending to be enemy soldiers, they will capture him, then see if he is prepared to betray his friends.
    Scene 7. Helena, too, is setting a plot. Diana is to pretend to yield to Bertram’s suit on condition that he give her his ring. She is then to agree to an assignation in the dark, at which Helena will take her place.

    ACT IV
    Scene 1.
    Parolles is “captured” according to plan. He immediately offers to betray the Florentines and is blindfolded and taken off for interrogation.
    Scene 2. Bertram woos Diana, who will yield only if he will giver her his ring. Bertram is reluctant but such is his passion for the girl that he agrees. Diana tells him to come to her chamber at midnight.
    Scene 3. News has reached Bertram that Helena is dead; his friends condemn his hard-heartedness. The plotters interrogate Parolles. He begs them to spare his life and gives up the secrets of the army, slandering various Frenchmen, including Bertram, as he does so. At length his blindfold is removed and the plot revealed: Parolles’ true character has been exposed.
    Scene 4. Helena’s subterfuge has succeeded and she is now pregnant with Bertram’s child, though he believes it was Diana whose bed he shared. She resolves to return to France, and Diana and the widow agree to accompany her.
    Scene 5. In Rossillion, Lafew tells the old Countess of the exposure of Parolles. Bertram is expected home at any moment and news arrives that the King of France is also on his way to the Countess’ house.

    ACT V
    Scene 1.
    Meeting a French gentleman on the road, Helena gives him a letter to be delivered to the King of France.
    Scene 2. Parolles humbles himself before Lafew, confessing that the old Lord was the first to see through him.
    Scene 3. The King forgives Bertram for his cruel treatment of Helena, which the young Count seems to repent. The King recognizes a ring on Bertram’s finger as one which he hemself had previously given to Helena; Bertram denies this, saying that he had it from a woman in Florence. The french gentleman delivers Helena’s letter: this relates that Bertram has seduced Diana, then abandoned her—Diana herself is present and wishes to appeal to the King. Diana is summoned and Bertram dismisses her as a common prostitute, though admitting he has slept with her and that it was she who gave him the ring the King has recognized; Diana meanwhile, insists that she is still a virgin. The King does not know what to believe until, to the astonishment of all, Helena appears. She has the ring from Bertram’s finger and is pregnant with his child; the “impossible” conditions have been met and Bertram vows to love his wife “ever, ever dearly.”

    CAST
    The King of France: Clive Swift / Helena: Emily Woof / Bertram: Sam West / Countess: Maggie Steed / Parolles: Edward De Souza / Lafew: Denys Hawthorne / Lavatch: Aden Gillett / Interpreter: Nicholas Murchie / First French Lord: John Warnaby / Second French Lord: Michael Higgs / Widow: Jenny Howe / Diana: Rebecca Saire / Duke of Florence: Gavin Muir / Mariana: Charlotte Harvey / Messenger: Scott Cherry

    Director: Clive Brill / Composer: Dominique Le Gendre / Production coordinators: Polly Coles and Charlotte Harvey / Sound engineer: Wilfredo Acosta / Producers: Bill Shepherd and Tom Treadwell

    TRACK LIST
    Disc 1
    Track 1: Act I, Scene i
    Track 2: Act I, Scene ii
    Track 3: Act I, Scene iii
    Track 4: Act II, Scene i
    Track 5: Act II Scene ii
    Track 6: Act II, Scene iii
    Track 7: Act II, Scene iv

    Disc 2
    Track 1: Act II, Scene v
    Track 2: Act III, Scene i
    Track 3: Act III, Scene ii
    Track 4: Act III, Scene iii
    Track 5: Act III, Scene iv
    Track 6: Act III, Scene v
    Track 7: Act III, Scene vi
    Track 8: Act III, Scene vii
    Track 9: Act IV, Scene i
    Track 10: Act IV, Scene ii
    Track 11: Act IV, Scene iii

    Disc 3
    Track 1: Act IV, Scene iv
    Track 2: Act IV, Scene v
    Track 3: Act V, Scene i
    Track 4: Act V, Scene ii
    Track 5: Act V, Scene iii

  • Brilliantly manipulative and entirely amoral, the hero-villain Richard is one of Shakespeare's greatest roles.

    The Yorkists have emerged victorious from the civil wars and Edward IV wears the English crown. But Edward's misshapen brother Richard harbors kingly ambitions and will stop at nothing to achieve the throne. In a fatal battle on Bosworth Field, Richard meets the ghosts of all whom he has murdered and the Earl of Richmond, the future King Henry VII.

    Richard III is played by David Troughton. Saskia Wickham plays Lady Anne, Margaret Robertson plays Queen Margaret, and Philip Voss is Buckingham.

  • This controversial play follows the declining fortunes of a man of extravagant contradictions.

    The fabulously rich Timon believes all his friends to be as open-hearted and generous as himself. When his wealth suddenly evaporates, however, he discovers the truth and his altruism turns to a bitter hatred of mankind. Stirred up by the cynical Apemantus, Timon retreats to the woods where he plots the destruction of Athens, the city that had formerly seemed to embody everything pleasurable and civilized. The cosmic scope of his hatred is communicated in a series of powerful and disturbing dramatic tableaux.

    Alan Howard is Timon and Norman Rodway is Apemantus. Damian Lewis play Alcibiades.

  • This pastoral is one of Shakespeare’s best-loved comedies, due to its delightful heroine, the wise, witty, and virtuous Rosalind, who complicates her love life by disguising herself as a young man.

    ACT I
    Scene 1.
    Orlando, the youngest son of Sir Rowland de Boys, has been kept “rustically at home” by his older brother, Oliver; he has been denied his inheritance and any formal education. When Orlando demands his birthright, the brothers come to blows. Charles the Wrestler describes how the old duke has been banished by his younger brother Frederick and has gone to live in the Forest of Arden. His daughter Rosalind has stayed at court with Celia, Frederick’s daughter. Hearing that Charles and Orlando are to wrestle the following day, Oliver lies to Charles, claiming that Orlando intends, if necessary, to resort to foul play in order to win the fight.

    Scene 2. The courtier Le Beau urges Rosalind and Celia to watch the wrestling. They try to persuade the youthful Orlando not to fight, but he is determined to go ahead and succeeds in beating Charles. Frederick congratulates the victor but is displeased to learn of his parentage. Le Beau suggest that, the duke being so unpredictable, Orlando would be wise to leave the court. Orlando, who has fallen for the “heavenly Rosalind,” follows his advice.


    Scene 3. Rosalind is telling Celia of her love for Orlando when Duke Frederick enters and banishes her from the court. Celia insists on accompanying her cousin and they decide to travel in disguise: Rosalind as a youth called Ganymede and Celia as his sister, Aliena. Their sole companion is to be the court fool Touchstone.

    ACT II
    Scene 1.
    Duke Senior extols the joys of the hard, rustic life. A lord describes the melancholy Jaques’ distress at the brutality of the hunt.

    Scene 2. Duke Frederick has learnt of the flight of Celia and Rosalind.

    Scene 3. Orlando is warned by Adam, his father’s aged servant, that Oliver has resolved to murder him. Adam urges Orlando to escape, offering him his savings and his service.

    Scene 4. Rosalind, Celia, and Touchstone are now in the Forest of Arden, where they overhear Silvius telling the shepherd Corin of his unrequited love for the scornful Phebe. The tired travelers ask for help and decide to buy Corin’s cottage and sheep.

    Scene 5. Jaques, Amiens, and others sing together.

    Scene 6. When Adam becomes faint with hunger and exhaustion, Orlando promises to find him food.

    Scene 7. Jaques eulogizes Touchstone’s wisdom. As the exiled courtiers prepare to eat, Orlando enters brandishing his sword and demanding food. The Duke disarms him by graciously inviting him to eat. Whilst Orlando goes back to fetch Adam, Jaques ponders on the seven stages of life, from infancy to senility. The duke is delighted to learn that Orlando is the son of “the good Sir Rowland.”

    ACT III
    Scene 1.
    Duke Frederick commands Oliver to find his missing brother and “bring him dead or living.”

    Scene 2. Orlando wanders through the forest hanging verses in praise of Rosalind upon the trees. Rosalind derides the clumsy style until she realizes that their author is Orlando. When he arrives with Jaques, Rosalind (dressed as the boy Ganymede) draws him out on the subject of his love. She promises to cure him of his passion if he comes to her daily and woos her as if she were Rosalind.

    Scene 3. Touchstone proposes to Audrey. Jaques intervenes, persuading them against being married by the ill-educated priest Sir Oliver Mar-Text.

    Scene 4. Rosalind is devastated that Orlando has not come to woo her as he promised.

    Scene 5. Silvius woos Phebe ardently, but she rebuffs his advances. When Rosalind accuses the shepherdess of pride Phebe is instantly infatuated with her/Ganymede. She decides to write to Ganymede and Silvius agrees to deliver the letter.

    ACT IV
    Scene 1.
    Rosalind is scornful of Jaques’ melancholy, insisting “I had rather have a fool to make me merry than experience to make me sad.” When Orlando arrives an hour late, she tells him that this is no sign of true love. Once alone with Celia again, she confesses the depth of her passion.

    Scene 2. Jaques gives the exiled lords a hero’s welcome when they return from the hunt with a deer.

    Scene 3. Silvius delivers Phebe’s stern letter to Rosalind who pretends not to believe that a woman could have written such words. Oliver enters carrying a bloody cloth and recounts how Orlando saved his life by killing the hungry lioness poised to attack him. The brothers are now reconciled and Oliver has been welcomed by the exiled duke. Rosalind swoons at the sight of the blood.

    ACT V
    Scene 1.
    Touchstone dismisses William, a rival for Audrey’s affections.

    Scene 2. Oliver and Celia are in love and plan to marry the following day. When Orlando tells Rosalind “how bitter a thing it is to look into happiness through another man’s eyes,” she claims to know a magician who will unite him with his beloved.

    Scene 3. Touchstone and Audrey are to marry the next day.

    Scene 4. Rosalind reveals her identity to Orlando and her father, as Hymen, the god of marriage, looks on. All four couples are now to be married. Jaques de Boys, Sir Rowland’s second son, arrives with news of Duke Frederick’s conversion; having met a hermit in the forest, he has resolved to restore the dukedom to his brother and to retire from the world. As the celebrations continue, Jaques the courtier decides to join Frederick in his religious life.

    CAST
    Rosalind: Niamh Cusack / Orlando: Stephen Mangan / Jaques: Gerard Murphy / Touchstone: Clarence Smith / Celia: Victoria Hamilton / Silvius: Ian Pepperell / Phebe: Carolyn Backhouse / Duke Senior: Philip Voss / Duke Frederick: Hugh Ross / Oliver: Jonathan Tafler / Audrey: Sarah-Jane Holm / Adam: John Hollis / Amiens: Chook Sibtain / Le Beau: Sean Baker / Corin: Raymond Bowers / Charles the Wrestler: Matthew Morgan / Lord: Mark Lambert / Jaques de Boys: Duncan Bell

    Director: Clive Bell / Composer: Dominique Le Gendre / Production coordinators: Polly Coles and Charlotte Harvey / Sound Engineer: Wilfredo Acosta / Producers: Bill Shepherd and Tom Treadwell

    TRACK LIST
    Disc 1
    Track 1: Act I, Scene i
    Track 2: Act I, Scene ii
    Track 3: Act I, Scene iii
    Track 4: Act II, Scene i
    Track 5: Act II, Scene ii
    Track 6: Act II, Scene iii
    Track 7: Act II, Scene iv
    Track 8: Act II, Scene v
    Track 9: Act II, Scene vi
    Track 10: Act II, Scene vii
    Track 11: Act III, Scene i
    Track 12: Act III, Scene ii (up to line 240)

    Disc 2
    Track 1: Act III, Scene ii (from line 241)
    Track 2: Act III, Scene iii
    Track 3: Act III, Scene iv
    Track 4: Act III, Scene v
    Track 5: Act IV, Scene i
    Track 6: Act IV, Scene ii
    Track 7: Act IV, Scene iii
    Track 8: Act V, Scene i
    Track 9: Act V, Scene ii
    Track 10: Act V, Scene iii
    Track 11: Act V, Scene iv
    Track 12: Epilogue

  • The monstrous power of one of Shakespeare's most memorable characters, Richard Plantagenet, emerges in Henry VI, Part 3, a portent of things to come.

    The Yorkists have been temporarily victorious and the Duke of York has assumed the throne, but the Lancastrians, led by Queen Margaret, counter-attack. As the fortunes of war shift, both the innocent and the guilty are swept up in the maelstrom. And increasingly dominant amid the chaos is the sinister figure of the crook-backed Richard, Duke of Gloucester.

    David Tennant plays Henry VI, and Kelly Hunter plays Queen Margaret. Clive Merrison is the Duke of York, Stephen Boxer is Edward IV, and John Bowe is Warwick. Richard of Gloucester is played by David Troughton.

  • This shattering drama of isolation and loss is one of the greatest tragedies in world literature.

    King Lear of Britain has three daughters: the hard-hearted Goneril and Regan, and the good and gentle Cordelia. He determines to divide his kingdom between them, giving the largest share to she who can say she loves him the best. Lear’s tragic lack of judgement and self-knowledge is paralleled by the blindness of the loyal Gloucester who is persuaded to reject his virtuous son Edgar in favor of the villainous Edmund.

    Lear is played by Trevor Peacock and Gloucester by Clive Merrison. Penny Downie is Goneril, Samantha Bond is Regan, and Julia Ford is Cordelia. Edgar is played by David Tennant, Edmund by Gerard Murphy, and the Fool by John Rogan.

  • This haunting drama of vengeance and forgiveness crowns the group of tragicomic romances that Shakespeare composed at the end of his career. Sometimes read as his farewell to the stage, the play contains some of Shakespeare's most lyrical verse.

    Prospero, wise Duke of Milan, has been deposed by Antonio, his wicked brother, and exiled with his daughter Miranda to a mysterious island. But Prospero possesses supernatural powers. Aided by the spirit Ariel, Prospero uses his magical art to bring his enemies under his control. 

    Prospero is played by Bob Peck, Ariel by Adrian Lester, Jennifer Ehle is Miranda, Simon Russell Beale is Antonio, Jamie Glover is Ferdinand, and Richard McCabe plays Caliban.

  • Rife with intrigue and treachery, this history play depicts the onset of the fifteenth-century Wars of the Roses between the houses of Lancaster and York.

    Young King Henry VI has married the beautiful Margaret of Anjou, but the new queen is ruthless and ambitious. Supported by the powerful Duke of Suffolk, Margaret plots the overthrow of her enemies, chief among them the Duke of Gloucester. But the Duke of York also aspires to the crown, and the common people, led by Jack Cade, are in rebellion. To the despair of the mild young king, England descends into civil war.

    David Tennant plays Henry VI, and Kelly Hunter plays Queen Margaret. Norman Rodway is the Duke of Gloucester, Isla Blair the Duchess of Gloucester, and Clive Merrison plays the Duke of York.

  • This great tragedy confronts the mystery at the heart of evil and contains some of Shakespeare's most magnificent dramatic verse.

    Othello, a Moorish general in the service of Venice, has married Desdemona, beautiful daughter of a Venetian senator. But Iago, Othello's malignant ensign, is determined to destroy their happiness. Cunningly bending Othello to his own purposes, Iago persuades the Moor that Desdemona is unfaithful to him. Tormented in a hell of jealousy, Othello moves inexorably toward the destruction of his innocent wife and himself. 

    Othello is played by Don Warrington, David Threlfall is Iago, Anne-Marie Duff is Desdemona, and Jasper Britton plays Cassio. 

  • It is said that Queen Elizabeth gave Shakespeare two weeks to write this play that showcases her favorite comedic character, Sir John Falstaff. 

    The dissolute Falstaff plans to seduce Mistress Ford and Mistress Page, two "Merry Wives of Windsor," thereby gaining access to their husbands' wealth. The two women have the old rogue's measure, however, and Falstaff's plots lead only to his own humiliation. But the merry wives themselves fall prey to plotting as their plans to prevent Mistress Page's daughter Anne from marrying the young man she loves are frustrated in their turn.

    Dinsdale Landen is Falstaff. Sylvestra Le Touzel plays Mistress Ford and Penny Downie is Mistress Page. Nicholas Woodeson is Ford, Phillip Jackson is Page, and Clive Swift plays Justice Shallow.

  • The all-conquering King Henry V is dead and the throne is occupied by his infant son, Henry VI. The good Duke Humphrey of Gloucester has been appointed protector, but a struggle for power soon develops between the young king’s Lancastrian relatives and the powerful house of York under Richard Plantagenet. Meanwhile the French, led by Joan of Arc, the maid of Orleans, threaten to win back the territories lost to Henry V.

  • Love and wit conquer all in Shakespeare's sparkling comedy of self-delusion and disguise.

    Padua holds many suitors for the hand of fair Bianca, but Bianca may not be married until her spinster sister, Kate, is wed. Could any man be rash enough to take on Kate? 

    The witty adventurer Petruchio undertakes the task. While he sets about transforming Kate from foul-tempered termagant to loving wife, young Lucentio and his clever servant, Tranio, plot to win Bianca. 

    Frances Barber and Roger Allam are Kate and Petruchio. Lucentio is played by Alan Cox.

  • Lust poses as love and ambition as patriotism in this dark and brilliant play depicting the heroic action of the Trojan War.

    Troy is besieged by the invading Greeks, but the young Trojan prince Troilus can think only of his love for Cressida. Her uncle Pandarus brings the two together, but after only one night news comes that Cressida must be sent to the enemy camp. There, as Troilus looks on, she yields to the wooing of the Greek Diomedes. The tragic story is undercut by the commentary of Thersites, who provides a cynical chorus.

  • Henry V is a study of kingship, patriotism, and heroic determination tempered by tender comedy as Henry courts Katherine, princess of France. 

    Henry, the noble and courageous young king of England, decides to invade France, believing he has a rightful claim to the throne. At Agincourt he leads his army into battle against the powerful French forces and, against all the odds, wins a famous victory.

    Henry is played by Jamie Glover, Brian Cox is the Chorus, and the Hostess is played by Elizabeth Spriggs.

  • At the heart of this tragic history is one of Shakespeare's most noble characters, the statesman Brutus, who is caught in a devastating conflict between private affection and public duty.

    Julius Caesar has become the most powerful man in the Rome. Does his power now threaten the very existence of the Republic itself? A conspiracy is hatched, one that will have fatal consequences not only for Caesar and the conspirators but for the future history of the ancient world. 

    Brutus is played by John Bowe and Mark Antony by Adrian Lester. Michael Feast is Caesar.

  • Prince Hal parts from his past to fulfill his royal destiny, in this essential conclusion to Henry IV, Part 1.

    Rebellion still simmers in England and King Henry's health is failing. Prince Hal has proved his courage but the king still fears that his son's pleasure-loving nature will bring the realm to ruin. Meanwhile, Falstaff and his ribald companions waste the nights in revelry, anticipating the moment when Hal will ascend the throne. Falstaff is in Gloucestershire when news arrives that the king has died. Has the dissolute old knight's hour come at last?

    Hal is played by Jamie Glover and King Henry by Julian Glover. Richard Griffiths is Falstaff.

  • Sinister supernatural forces are at work in this fast-paced tragedy of guilt and retribution, in which the power of human beings to control their own destiny is called into question.

    The brave warrior Macbeth allows himself to be persuaded by Lady Macbeth, his wife, to slay good King Duncan and seize the throne of Scotland for himself. Macbeth achieves his ambition, but one murder proves not to be enough as he desperately attempts to eliminate all who might threaten his ill-gotten power. Descending into paranoia, Macbeth achieves his ambition but ravages his soul.

    Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are played by Hugh Ross and Harriet Walter.

  • Shakespeare’s most imaginative and merry play is set in an enchanted wood amidst fairies and sprites.

    When Oberon, King of the Fairies, uses his magic upon four runaway lovers in a midsummer wood outside Athens, chaos ensues. Who really loves whom? Meanwhile, a band of well-meaning but bungling local actors have their rehearsal sabotaged by the mischievous Puck, who bewitches their leader, Bottom, and Titania, the Fairy Queen. The result is a lively and anarchic comedy which can only be resolved by an elaborate disentangling of spells.

    Hermia is played by Amanda Root, Oberon by David Harewood, and Bottom by Roy Hudd.

    ACT I
    Scene 1.
    In Athens, preparations are underway for the wedding of Duke Theseus to Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons. An angry father, Egeus, comes to the ducal palace and accuses Lysander of bewitching his daughter Hermia, even though she is already betrothed to Demetrius. Hermia confesses her love for Lysander, and Theseus tells her that according to the law, she must either die or enter a nunnery if she refuses to marry the man chosen by her father. He gives her until the new moon to decide. Hermia and Lysander decide to run away; they agree to meet the following night in a wood outside the city. They tell Helena, Hermia’s childhood friend, of their plan; she, however, is in love with Demetrius, who has rejected her for Hermia, and she hopes to regain his favor by telling him of the lovers’ intentions.
    Scene 2. A group of Athenian workmen, “rude mechanicals,” are preparing an entertainment to be performed at the Duke’s wedding. They have chosen “the most lamentable comedy and most cruel death of Pyramus and Thisby.”

    ACT II
    Scene 1.
    In a wood near Athens, Oberon and Titania, King and Queen of the Fairies, argue over a changeling boy. Titania has adopted him, but Oberon wants him for an attendant. When Titania refuses to give in, Oberon summons his servant, the mischievous sprite Puck. Oberon instructs him to find an enchanted flower, the juice of which, when laid on a sleeper’s eyelid, will cause him or her to fall in love with the first creature seen on awaking. He thus hopes to force her into giving him the boy. While Puck is gone, Oberon observes Helena and Demetrius, who have followed Hermia and Lysander into the wood. Demetrius rejects Helena peremptorily. When Puck returns with the flower, Oberon tells him to lay some of its juice on the eye of the “disdainful youth,” whom he will know by his Athenian clothes.
    Scene 2. Oberon squeezes the juice of the magic flower on Titania’s eyelids. Lysander and Helena fall asleep nearby. Puck mistakes Lysander for Demetrius and drops the juice on his eye. Demetrius and Helena arrive and Lysander awakes, promptly falling in love with Helena. Hermia wakes to find herself left alone.

    ACT III
    Scene 1.
    Near where Titania lies sleeping, the “rude mechanicals” rehearse their play. Puck, who has been watching the rehearsal with amusement, places the head of an ass on Bottom’s shoulders. His fellow actors run away terrified. Titania awakes and falls instantly in love with Bottom.
    Scene 2. Oberon is delighted at what has happened to Titania, but angered when he realizes that the sprite has mistaken Lysander for Demetrius. To right the error, he lays juice on the lids of the sleeping Demetrius. When the young man wakes, the first person he sees is Helena, and he duly falls in love with her. Helena, now beloved of both the youths, is certain they are teasing her cruelly. Hermia is distraught when Lysander rejects her and accuses Helena of stealing her beloved. Lysander and Demetrius leave to settle their quarrel over Helena by combat, but Oberon orders Puck to send them to sleep. Puck then lays an antidote to the love juice on Lysander’s eyelids. Meanwhile Helena and Hermia fall asleep beside their lovers.

    ACT IV
    Scene 1.
    Oberon sees Titania sleeping beside Bottom. He pities her and, on undoing the spell, they are reconciled. Puck removes Bottom’s ass’ head. Thesus and Hippolyta are hunting in the forest with Egeus. They come upon the sleeping lovers. Lysander explains that he and Hermia were fleeing to evade the Athenian law. Demetrius gives up his claim to Hermia and declares his love for Helena. Theseus then announces that the young couples will be married along with Hippolyta and himself. After they have retruned to Athens, Bottom awakes.
    Scene 2. Quince, Starveling, Flute, and Snug are anxiously wondering where Bottom is when he returns with the news that their entertainment has been selected for the Duke’s wedding.

    ACT V
    Scene 1.
    After the wedding, Theseus, Hippolyta, and the young couples assemble for the entertainment. Bottom and his friends present the tragedy of Pyramus and Thisby, to the great amusement of the spectators. When all have retired for the night, the fairies enter and dance together through the palace, to bless the bridal beds. Only Puck remains, asking the audience to believe that they “have but slumb’red here/While these visions did appear.”

    CAST LIST
    Bottom: Roy Hudd / Hermia: Amanda Root / Helena: Saskia Wickham / Lysander: Rupert Penry-Jones / Demetrius: Clarence Smith / Puck: Richard McCabe / Oberon: David Harewood / Titania: Adjoa Andoh / Quince: Richard Cordery / Snout: John Hollis / Flute: Alex Lowe / Starveling: Sidney Livingstone / Snug: John Dallimore / Theseus: Paul Shelley / Hippolyta: Sophie Heyman / Fairy: Aicha Kossoko

    Director: Clive Brill / Composer: Dominique Le Gendre / Production coordinators: Polly Coles and Charlotte Harvey / Sound engineer: Wilfredo Acosta / Producers: Bill Shepherd and Tom Treadwell

    TRACK LIST
    Disc 1
    Track 1: Act I, Scene i
    Track 2: Act I, Scene ii
    Track 3: Act II, Scene i
    Track 4: Act II, Scene ii
    Track 5: Act III, Scene i
    Track 6: Act III, Scene ii
    (up to line 121)

    Disc 2
    Track 1: Act III, Scene ii
    (from line 122)
    Track 2: Act IV, Scene i
    Track 3: Act IV, Scene ii
    Track 4: Act V, Scene i

  • This strange, dark romance includes two songs composed by Shakespeare that are amongst the most beautiful in the English language.

    Imogen, the daughter of King Cymbeline, is persecuted by her wicked stepmother, the Queen, and by Cloten, the Queen’s doltish son. Disguised as a boy, she sets out to find her husband, the banished Posthumus. On her journey, she unwittingly meets her two brothers, stolen from the court as infants. Posthumus, meanwhile, has been convinced by the villainous Iachimo that Imogen is unchaste and agrees to a test of her faithfulness.

    Sophie Thompson is Imogen, and Ben Porter is Posthumus. Cymbeline is played by Jack Shepherd while Suzanne Bertish is the Queen. Stephen Mangan plays Cloten, and Ron Cook plays Iachimo.

    ACT I
    Scene 1.
    Imogen, daughter of King Cymbeline of Britain, has angered father by marrying Posthumus. Cymbeline himself reared the orphaned Posthumus, his own two sons having been abducted in infancy. The wicked queen (whose son Cloten was Cymbeline’s preferred match for Imogen) pretends kindness to the young couple. Before Posthumus leaves for exile in Rome, Imogen gives him a ring, receiving in return a bracelet.
    Scene 2. Cloten’s attendants ridicule him.
    Scene 3. Pisanio, Posthumus’ servant, tells Imogen of his master’s departure.
    Scene 4. Posthumus meets Iachimo in Rome. When Posthumus extols Imogen’s virtue, Iachimo wagers him ten thousand ducats to his diamond ring that he can persuade her to commit adultery. Posthumus accepts the wager.
    Scene 5. The doctor, Cornelius, is suspicious when the queen gathers poisonous plants. He reveals privately that what she believes to be a fatal poison is in fact a sleeping draught. The queen tries unsuccessfully to turn Pisanio against Posthumus and gives him the poison, claiming that it is a life-saving remedy. Pisanio spurns the queen, disbelieving her.
    Scene 6. Iachimo comes to see Imogen, bringing a letter of introduction from Posthumus. Realizing that he can only win the wager by resorting to subterfuge, he claims that Posthumus has been unfaithful, suggesting that she avenge herself by becoming his lover. When she reacts with revulsion, he assures her that he was merely testing her devotion. She then agrees to his request to leave a trunk of valuables in her chamber overnight for safekeeping.

    ACT II
    Scene 1.
    Cloten wants to meet Iachimo.
    Scene 2. While Imogen sleeps, Iachimo creeps from the trunk. He carefully notes details of her chamber and person and then eases Posthumus’s bracelet from her arm.
    Scene 3. When Cloten tries to woo Imogen she dismisses him impatiently. She asks Pisanio to find her missing bracelet.
    Scene 4. Iachimo uses his observations of Imogen, and her bracelet, to convince Posthumus that he has slept with her. Posthumus vows revenge.

    ACT III
    Scene 1.
    Cymbeline refuses to pay a tribute to Caesar, and Rome declares war on Britain. We learn that Cymbeline had fond associations with Rome and Caesar in his youth.
    Scene 2. Posthumus writes to Pisanio ordering to kill Imogen. Pisanio refuses to believe her unfaithful. In order to help Pisanio in his task, Posthumus tells Imogen to meet him at Milford Haven.
    Scene 3. Belarius, unjustly banished by Cymbeline, abducted his sons Guiderius and Arviragus, and lives with them in a remote Welsh cave. The young men, unaware of their provenance, are frustrated by their isolated life.
    Scene 4. As Imogen and Pisanio approach Milford he shows her Posthumus’ letter. She begs him “Do his bidding strike!” Pisanio convinces her that she should report her death to Posthumus; she meanwhile must dress as a man and seek the protection of Lucius, a noble Roman. Before they part, Pisanio gives Imogen the Queen’s potion, as a remedy for sickness.
    Scene 5. Imogen is missing from the court. The Queen privately hopes that she is either dead or exiled and that “She being down,/I have the placing of the British crown.” Believing Imogen well on her way to Rome, Pisanio tells Cloten that she has gone to Milford and gives him a suit of Posthumus’ clothes. Cloten plots his revenge, intending to kill Posthumus and ravish Imogen.
    Scene 6. When Imogen arrives exhausted at Belarius’s cave, she is welcomed with food and shelter. She calls herself Fidele.
    Scene 7. Romans discuss the war with Britain (War conference).

    ACT IV
    Scene 1.
    Cloten draws near to Milford, gloating about the horrible punishments he will deal out.
    Scene 2. Pleading sickness, Imogen remains in the cave whilst her hosts go hunting. She takes Pisanio’s drug. Belarius sees Cloten and fears that they have been discovered. Guiderius beheads Cloten. The brothers find Imogen/Fidele apparently dead, and lay her tenderly in grave. When Imogen awakens, she sees Cloten’s decapitated body in Posthumus’s clothes and assumes her husband has been killed. Lucius comes upon Imogen/Fidele and takes her under his protection.
    Scene 3. Cymbeline wonders where Imogen and Cloten have gone, and questions Pisanio. Pisanio denies knowledge and swears loyalty to the king.
    Scene 4. Belarius wants to flee the area, but his adopted sons are eager to fight the Romans.

    ACT V
    Scene 1.
    Posthumus, having returned to Britain with the Romans is devastated to learn from Pisanio of Imogen’s death. He dresses as a peasant and resolves to fight for his country.
    Scene 2. Iachimo reveals his guilt at having wronged Imogen.
    Scene 3. Posthumus describes how three men (Belarius, Guiderius, and Arvirigus) heroically saved the flagging Briton Army. Posthumus, again disguised as a Roman, is arrested.
    Scene 4. Posthumus willingly embraces imprisonment. He awakens from a vision to find a written prophecy that both his and Britain’s miseries will end.
    Scene 5. Cymbeline knights Belarius, Arvirigus, and Guiderius, but regrets the disappearance of an outstandingly valiant unknown soldier (who is in fact Posthumus). The queen has died, confessing her misdeeds. The prisoners Fidele/Imogen, Posthumus, Lucius, and Iachimo, are brought to Cymbeline. Lucius begs clemency for Fidele/Imogen and Cymbeline agrees. Fidele/Imogen demands that Iachimo explain where he found the diamond ring he wears; this he does. Heartbroken, Posthumus steps forward, thrusting the disguised Imogen away when she tries to intervene. Pisanio comes to her aid and she accuses him of poisoning her. Cornelius, however, interposes in his defense. Thus, Belarius, Guiderius, and Arvirigus, who are amazed at Fidele’s apparent return from the dead, understand all. Guiderius admits to the slaying of Cloten and is arrested by Cymbeline. Belarius then reveals both his own and his adoptive son’s true identities. Posthumus forgives Iachimo freely. Amidst the general rejoicing, Cymbeline announces that he will pay tribute to Caesar, thus restoring peace between Britain and Rome.

    CAST
    Cymbeline: Jack Shepherd / Imogen: Sophie Thompson / Posthumus: Ben Porter / Belarius: Stephen Moore / Iachimo: Ron Cook / Cloten: Stephen Mangan / Queen: Suzanne Bertish / Arviragus: Ian Hughes / Guiderius: Will Keen / Pisanio: James Greene / Philario: Charlie Woods / Soothsayer: Max Bonamy / Senator: Rupert Mason / Lady: Annabel Capper / Messenger: James Reynard / Jailer: Julius Barnett

    Director: Clive Brill / Composer: Dominique Le Gendre / Production coordinators: Polly Coles and Charlotte Harvey / Sound Engineer: Wilfredo Acosta / Producers: Bill Shepherd and Tom Treadwell

    TRACK LIST
    Disc 1
    Track 1: Act I, Scene i
    Track 2: Act I, Scene ii
    Track 3: Act I, Scene iii
    Track 4: Act I, Scene iv
    Track 5: Act I, Scene v
    Track 6: Act I, Scene vi
    Track 7: Act II, Scene i
    Track 8: Act II, Scene ii
    Track 9: Act II, Scene iii
    Track 10: Act II, Scene iv

    Disc 2
    Track 1: Act II, Scene v
    Track 2: Act III, Scene i
    Track 3: Act III, Scene ii
    Track 4: Act III, Scene iii
    Track 5: Act III, Scene iv
    Track 6: Act III, Scene v
    Track 7: Act III, Scene vi
    Track 8: Act III, Scene vii
    Track 9: Act IV, Scene i
    Track 10: Act IV, Scene ii

    Disc 3
    Track 1: Act IV, Scene iii
    Track 2: Act IV, Scene iv
    Track 3: Act V, Scene i
    Track 4: Act V, Scene ii
    Track 5: Act V, Scene iii
    Track 6: Act V, Scene iv
    Track 7: Act V, Scene v

  • Shakespeare’s most famous play is one of the greatest stories in the literature of the world.

    Distressed by his father’s death and his mother’s over-hasty remarriage, Hamlet, prince of Denmark is faced by a specter from beyond the grave bearing a grim message of murder and revenge. The young prince is driven to the edge of madness by his struggle to understand the situation he finds himself in and to do his duty. Many others, including Hamlet’s beloved, the innocent Ophelia, are swept up in his tragedy.

    Hamlet is played by Simon Russell Beale. Imogen Stubbs plays Ophelia, Jane Lapotaire is Gertrude, and Bob Peck is Claudius. Polonius is played by Norman Rodway.

    ACT I
    Scene 1.
    The ghost of Old Hamlet, King of Denmark, has appeared to officers guarding the castle of Elsinore. When the apparition is witnessed by Horatio, friend of the Dead King’s son, he fears that it portends ill. He decides to tell young Hamlet, hoping that the ghost might reveal to him the cause of its restlessness.
    Scene 2. The dead king’s brother, Claudius, has assumed the crown and married the widowed Queen Gertrude. He dispatches emissaries to Norway where the king’s nephew Fortinbras is threatening Denmark with war. The King and Queen urge young Hamlet to cast off his dark mood. Once alone, the prince vents his violent grief at his father’s death and outrage at his mother’s “incestuous” remarriage. Wen Horatio tells Hamlet about the ghost, he too suspects foul play.
    Scene 3. Laertes warns his sister, Ophelia, not to take seriously Hamlet’s attentions because, being a prince, he is not free to make his own choices in matters of love.
    Scene 4. Hamlet and Horatio meet on the battlements. The ghost appears and beckons to Hamlet to follow him.
    Scene 5. The ghost describes to Hamlet how it was murdered by Claudius. It urges him to revenge the crime.

    ACT II
    Scene 1.
    Polonius, a garrulous counsellor and father to Ophelia and Laertes, instructs Reynaldo to investigate the kind of life Laertes is leading in Paris. Ophelia describes Hamlet’s bizarre behavior to Polonius who attributes this to her recent rejection of him.
    Scene 2. The King and Queen ask Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, old friends of Hamlet, to discover the cause of the prince’s erratic behavior. The King of Norway has stopped Fortinbras’ preparations for war against Denmark. Polonius takes Hamlet’s scathing and capricious wit as proof of his insanity. Hamlet greets Rosencrantz and Guildenstern warmly, but becomes suspicious of their motives. He is, however, pleased to hear that a company of players has arrived at Elsinore. Once alone, he berates himself for his failure to undertake his revenge. He plans to have the players enact King Hamlet’s murder and to observe Claudius’ reaction as a way of ascertaining his guilt.

    Act III
    Scene 1.
    Rosencrantz and Guildenstern have failed to uncover the reason for Hamlet’s behavior. Hamlet shocks Ophelia with his crude and bitter contempt for women and marriage. Their conversation is overheard by Claudius, who recognizes that it is not thwarted love that is responsible for Hamlet’s dangerous instability. He resolves to send him on a diplomatic mission to England to get him away from the court. Polonius suggests that Gertrude should persuade Hamlet to confide in her; he himself will eavesdrop on their conversation.
    Scene 2. Hamlet tells Horatio to watch Claudius during the play for signs of guilt. As a murder identical to that of King Hamlet is enacted, Claudius rises in fright and calls for lights, thus ending the performance. Hamlet is summoned to his mother’s closet and vows to “speak daggers to her, but use none.”
    Scene 3. Claudius orders Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to accompany Hamlet to England. Once alone he expresses agony at his dreadful crime. Hamlet comes upon him trying to pray, but desists from killing him on the grounds that, were Claudius to die in prayer, his soul might go to heaven rather than hell.
    Scene 4. Hamlet harangues Gertrude so violently that she cries out for help. Polonius responds from his hiding place and Hamlet, believing him to be Claudius, stabs through the arras, killing him. He then continues his furious indictment of Gertrude, until the ghost enters, reminding him of his mission. Having implored his mother to repent, he drags away Polonius’ body.

    ACT IV
    Scene 1.
    Gertrude is now convinced of Hamlet’s madness and Claudius is determined that he should leave for England immediately.
    Scene 2. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern beg Hamlet to reveal the whereabouts of Polonius’ corpse.
    Scene 3. Hamlet speaks wildly, but when Claudius tells him he must set out for England immediately, he agrees. Left alone, Claudius confesses that he has plotted Hamlet’s death.
    Scene 4. Fortinbras is marching with his army to do battle over an unimportant piece of land. Hamlet compares his own wrongs, still unavenged, and resolves to take action at last.
    Scene 5. Ophelia, deranged with grief at her father’s death, comes to Claudius and Gertrude, singing distractedly. Laertes arrives, hot to avenge Polonius’ murder.
    Scene 6. Horatio receives a letter from Hamlet saying that he has been captured by pirates on his way to England and that they have returned him to Denmark.
    Scene 7. Claudius tells Laertes that he cannot punish Hamlet for Polonius’ murder because he is loved both by Gertrude and the people of Denmark. He persuades Laertes to wait until an “accidental” death can be arranged for Hamlet; a fencing match will be organized and the tip of Laertes’ sword will be dipped in poison. Gertrude announces that Ophelia has drowned herself.

    ACT V
    Scene 1.
    A grave is being dug. Hamlet and Horatio arrive, and Hamlet jests with the gravedigger. The grave is Ophelia’s, and when her funeral procession arrives, Laertes jumps into the grave to bid his sister a last farewell, Hamlet follows, claiming that his love for Ophelia was greater than her brother’s; they fight. Claudius urges Laertes to bide his time patiently.
    Scene 2. Hamlet tells Horatio how, en route for England, he discovered Claudius’ plot to have him killed. Having forged an order for the deaths of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, he escaped. Osric, a courtier, tells Hamlet of the proposed fencing match with Laertes; Hamlet agrees to take part. The match begins. Gertrude drinks poisoned wine meant by Claudius for Hamlet, should Laertes’ sword fail to kill him. Hamlet is wounded by the poisoned sword which, in the course of the scuffle, comes to his own hand; he wounds Laertes with it. Dying, Laertes confesses the plot. Hamlet stabs Claudius fatally with the poisoned sword, then dies, naming Fortinbras as his successor. Fortinbras arrives, claims the crown of Denmark, and orders a soldier’s funeral for Hamlet.

    CAST
    Hamlet: Simon Russell Beale / Ophelia: Imogen Stubbs / Gertrude: Jane Lapotaire / Claudius: Bob Peck / Polonius: Norman Rodway / Ghost, Gravedigger: Paul Jesson / Horatio: Alan Cox / Laertes: Damian Lewis / Rosencrantz: John McAndrew / Guildenstern: Clarence Smith / Player King: Clifford Rose / Fortinbras: Chook Sibtain / Marcellus, Osric: Nicholas Rowe / Cornelius, Reynaldo: Alex Boyd-Williams / Prologue, Lucianus, Doctor: Nicholas Murchie / Player Queen: Steven O’Neill / Bernardo: Alan Westaway / Francisco: Alex McSweeney / Voltemand: Nick Monu

    Director: Clive Brill / Composer: Dominique Le Gendre / Production coordinators: Polly Coles and Charlotte Harvey / Sound engineer: Wilfredo Acosta / Producers: Bill Shepherd and Tom Treadwell

    TRACK LIST
    Disc 1
    Track 1: Act I, Scene i
    Track 2: Act I, Scene ii
    Track 3: Act I, Scene iii
    Track 4: Act I, Scene iv
    Track 5: Act I, Scene v
    Track 6: Act II, Scene i
    Track 7: Act II, Scene ii
    (up to line 85)

    Disc 2
    Track 1: Act II, Scene ii
    (from line 85)
    Track 2: Act III, Scene i
    Track 3: Act III, Scene ii
    Track 4: Act III, Scene iii
    Track 5: Act III, Scene iv

    Disc 3
    Track 1: Act IV, Scene i
    Track 2: Act IV, Scene ii
    Track 3: Act IV, Scene iii
    Track 4: Act IV, Scene iv
    Track 5: Act IV, Scene v
    Track 6: Act IV, Scene vi
    Track 7: Act IV, Scene vii
    Track 8: Act V, Scene i
    Track 9: Act V, Scene ii

  • Shakespeare’s finest verse play is also his first portrait of the psychology of power.

    The sensitive and poetic Richard II is undoubtedly the rightful king of England, but he is unscrupulous and weak. When his cousin Henry Bolingbroke returns from banishment and mounts a challenge to his authority, Richard’s right to the throne proves of little help to him. Richard is forced to abdicate, but as his power is stripped away, he gains dignity and self-awareness, and he meets his death heroically. Meanwhile Bolingbroke’s seizure of the crown has caused resentment among the nobles of England.

    Rupert Graves is Richard II, and Julian Glover is Bolingbroke. John Wood plays John of Gaunt.

  • Shakespeare’s most sophisticated comedy is a riotous tale of hopelessly unrequited passions and mistaken identity.

    Duke Orsino is in love with the noblewoman Olivia. She, however, has fallen for his servant Cesario, who is actually Viola, a woman disguised as a man, who loves Orsino: confusion is rife. Meanwhile, Olivia’s arrogant steward Malvolio is cruelly tricked by her uncle Sir Toby Belch, his friend Sir Andrew Aguecheek, and the maidservant Maria into believing his mistress loves him.

    Niamh Cusack is Viola, Jonathan Firth is Orsino, Amanda Root plays Olivia, Dinsdale Landen plays Sir Toby Belch, and Julian Glover is Malvolio.

  • This play introduces Shakespeare’s greatest comedic character, the dissolute knight Sir John Falstaff.

    While King Henry’s England is threatened by rebellion, the king’s scapegrace son Hal haunts the taverns of London, his companions a crew of rogues and thieves let by Falstaff. The earl of Northumberland and his fiery son Hotspur scheme to overthrow the crown. Can Hal be brought to a sense of duty as Prince of Wales? Or will the influence of Falstaff prove too strong? The issue is decided when Hal, Hotspur, and Falstaff come together at the climactic battle of Shrewsbury.

    Hal is played by Jamie Glover and King Henry by Julian Glover. Richard Griffiths is Falstaff.

    ACT I
    Scene 1.
    King Henry’s plans to lead a crusade to the Holy Land are frustrated when he hears that an English army under Edmund Mortimer has been defeated by the Welsh chieftan Owen Glendower. Henry reveals that Harry Percy, known as Hotspur, has defeated the Scottish Earl of Douglas in battle. Thinking of his son, unruly Hal, the King envies the valiant Hotspur’s father, the Lord Northumberland. The King’s council is to convene on the following Wednesday when Hotspur will be made to account for his giving the king only one of his hostages.
    Scene 2. Ned Poins tries to persuade Prince Hal and his friend, the debauched knight Sir John Falstaff, to take part in a robbery at Gadshill. The Prince reuses but is finally persuaded by Poins, who has a secret scheme to expose Falstaff for the coward he is. Once alone, Hal muses on his unprincely behavior, comparing himself to the sun, who allows himself to be covered by the clouds, only to appear more brilliant when he emerges from the “ugly mists.”
    Scene 3. King Henry angrily dismisses Worcester when the Earl reminds him that it was his family that first put Henry on the throne. Hotspur claims that his irritation at the arrival of a foppish courtier on the battlefield has been misinterpreted as a refusal to give up prisoners to the king. However, he will only agree to surrender them if the King ransoms Mortimer, Hotspur’s brother-in-law. Henry is incensed: Mortimer, he says, is a traitor, having married his captor Owen Glendower’s daughter. Unmoved by Hotspur’s impassioned defense of Mortimer, he warns, “Send us your prisoners, or you will hear of it.” Northumberland restrains the enraged Hotspur. Worcester reminds them that the King’s hostility to Mortimer stems from the fact that he, not Henry, is Richard II’s rightful heir. When Hotspur finally calms down, his uncles suggests that they raise a rebellion against the King, relying on the support of Glendower, Douglas, Mortimer, and the Archbishop of York.

    ACT II
    Scene 1.
    Gadshill hears that there are wealthy travelers on the road: an ideal prey for their planned robbery.
    Scene 2. Falstaff and his cronies rob the travelers, and are, in turn, assaulted by Hal and Poins, who are in disguise.
    Scene 3. Hotspur’s wife Kate begs him to tell her why he is so abstracted, but he warns her not to question him further.
    Scene 4. Prince Hal is relaxing in an Eastcheap tavern when Falstaff arrives and recounts how he fought off eleven men. When Hal reveals that the two assailants were, in fact, Poins and himself, Falstaff is unabashed, claiming that he recognized Hal all along, and would not have killed the heir apparent. A messenger arrives from the King, summoning the Prince to court in the morning: the rebels are rising. Hal is concerned at the prospect of being horribly “chid” by his father the king but Falstaff persuades him to practice an answer. A Sheriff arrives to arrest Falstaff for his part in the robbery, but Hal lies to protect his friend. The stolen money, he says, will be paid back with interest.

    ACT III
    Scene 1.
    The rebels gather at Glendower’s castle in Wales. Hotspur and Glendower quarrel over the division of the Kingdom, though Hotspur is finally pacified. The wives of Hotspur and Mortimer enter and the rebels seem at amity.
    Scene 2. The king upbraids Hal for his unprincely behavior. Hal begs forgiveness, promising that he will match the brave Hotspur in valor.
    Scene 3. Falstaff claims that he has had his pockets picked in the tavern, but the Hostess hotly denies it. Hal arrives and banters with Falstaff, before setting off for the war.

    ACT IV
    Scene 1.
    In their camp near Shrewsbury, the rebels receive word that Northumberland is sick and cannot join the campaign. Worcester is concerned that his absence will be construed as a sign of weakness. Hotspur, however, remains optimistic even when they learn that the King is on his way and that Glendower cannot be with them for fourteen days.
    Scene 2. Falstaff bemoans the ragged company of which he is captain.
    Scene 3. Hotspur is eager to join battle at once but Worcester and Sir Richard Vernon advise caution. Sir Walter Blunt arrives, asking the rebels to state their grievances and promising pardon in return. Hotspur rails against the King’s betrayal of the Percy family and refuses to give an answer until the following morning.
    Scene 4. The Archbishop of York expresses his anxiety that, with the absence of both Northumberland and Glendower, all might not go well for the rebels in the forthcoming battle.

    ACT V
    Scene 1. Henry will pardon the rebels if they disband their forces. Hal offers to meet Hotspur in single combat.
    Scene 2. Worcester believes that, even if they agree to the terms, the King will always remain suspicious of them. He therefore conceals Henry’s “liberal and kind offer” from Hotspur, thus spurring him into battle.
    Scene 3. Hotspur kills Blunt. Falstaff jokes with Hal, but the Prince is in no mood for jesting.
    Scene 4. Prince Hal acquits himself bravely in the battle, saving his father from Douglas and killing Hotspur. Falstaff claims that it was he who finished Hotspur and is unabashed when Hal shows him to be a liar.
    Scene 5. Henry condemns Worcester and Vernon to death. Hal frees Douglas for his courage. The King describes how he will defeat the remaining rebels.

    CAST
    King Henry IV: Julian Glover / Prince Hal: Jamie Glover / Falstaff: Richard Griffiths / Hotspur: Alan Cox / Mistress Quickly: Elizabeth Spriggs / Northumberland: Peter Jeffrey / Worcester: Anthony Jackson / Glendower: Ian Hughes / Douglas: Mark Bonnar / Poins: Charles Simpson / Lady Percy: Jane Slavin / York: Michael N. Harbour / Vernon: Nicholas Murchie / Westmoreland: Philip Whitechurch / Bardolph: Sidney Livingstone / Blunt: David King / Other parts played by Peter England, Rachel Lumberg, John McAndrew, Chris Pavlo, Paul Reynolds, Justin Salinger, and Alisdair Simpson

    Director: Clive Brill / Composer: Dominique Le Gendre / Production coordinators: Polly Coles and Charlotte Harvey / Sound engineer: Wilfredo Acosta / Producers: Bill Shepherd and Tom Treadwell

    TRACK LIST
    Disc 1
    Track 1: Act I, Scene i
    Track 2: Act I, Scene ii
    Track 3: Act I, Scene iii
    |Track 4: Act II, Scene i
    Track 5: Act II, Scene ii
    Track 6: Act II, scene iii

    Disc 2
    Track 1: Act II, Scene iv
    Track 2: Act III, Scene i
    Track 3: Act III, Scene ii

    Disc 3
    Track 1: Act II, Scene iii
    Track 2: Act IV, Scene i
    Track 3: Act IV, Scene ii
    Track 4: Act IV, Scene iii
    Track 5: Act IV, Scene iv
    Track 6: Act V, Scene i
    Track 7: Act V, Scene ii
    Track 8: Act V, Scene iii
    Track 9: Act V, Scene iv
    Track 10: Act V, Scene v

  • In the world’s most celebrated and lyrical love story, the sublime devotion of two young lovers transcends their earthly fate.

    The noble Veronese houses of Montague and Capulet are locked in a bitter feud. When Romeo (a Montague) and Juliet (a Capulet) fall in love, they are swept up in a series of violent events and cruel twists of fortune. Despite the passion and innocence of their love, they fall victim to the enmity between their families, and their story ends in tragedy.

    In this production, Romeo is played by Joseph Fiennes and Juliet by Maria Miles. Elizabeth Spriggs is the Nurse.

  • In Shakespeare’s most controversial play, the opposing values of justice and mercy must be resolved. Antonio promises money to help his friend Bassanio woo Portia. He borrows the sum needed from the cruel Shylock, but there will be a dreadful penalty if the loan is not repaid.

    The golden world of Portia’s Belmont calls forth some of Shakespeare’s most lyrical love poetry. But the dark shadow of Shylock is never far from the heart of this brilliant comedy as it moves toward its courtroom climax.

    Portia is played by Hadyn Gwynne and Shylock by Trevor Peacock. Julian Rhind-Tutt is Bassanio, and Bill Nighy is Antonio.

  • Blackstone Audio is proud to present seven great plays in a collection that illustrates the development of European drama from ancient times to the threshold of the modern theater: Medea by Euripides, The Tempest by Shakespeare, The Imaginary Invalid by Molière, Camille by Dumas, An Enemy of the People by Ibsen, Arms and the Man by Shaw, and Uncle Vanya by Chekhov.

    A superb repertory company with distinguished guest artists has been assembled here, under the direction of veteran producer Yuri Rasovsky, who has won both an Audie Award for book production and the George Foster Peabody Award for broadcasting. These full performances use all the resources of audio to full advantage while keeping the substance of the works intact, resulting in both greater intimacy and lively theatrics.