Classic Plays

Julius Caesar is a history play and tragedy by William Shakespeare first performed in 1599. In the play, Brutus joins a conspiracy led by Cassius to assassinate Julius Caesar, to prevent him from becoming a tyrant. Caesar's right-hand man Antony stirs up hostility against the conspirators and Rome becomes embroiled in a dramatic civil war.

All children love this traditional rhyme, and singing along will help to develop number skills. Popular rhymes make this book a must for every child.

Unique to this title is: a historical introduction, an overview, a study of themes, and a list of famous quotes. You may of course skip all of it and go straight to the main title if you do not want any spoilers and come back later to the beginning. William Shakespeare, the 16th-century English poet, playwright, and actor, is generally regarded as the best writer in the English language and the world's best dramatist.

One of the most important books on William Shakespeare, this superb biography is both authoritative and extremely readable. It is the first modern biography of Shakespeare since the Victorian Age to pay full attention to his life and times, to his works, and to the numerous and subtle connections among them.

A solo recording of Macbeth in an American dialect.

The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is set in Denmark, and recounts how Prince Hamlet exacts revenge on his uncle Claudius, who has murdered Hamlet's father, the King, and then taken the throne and married Gertrude, Hamlet's mother. The play vividly charts the course of real and feigned madness—from overwhelming grief to seething rage—and explores themes of treachery, revenge, incest, and moral corruption.

Shakespeare writes about the plight of Romeo and Juliet with a lot of empathy and views their tragedy as a result of bad fate, rather than a problem with their characters. We sense from the very start that their relationship is doomed. Romeo and Juliet are portrayed as sincere and virtuous young people who are madly in love, but because of the feud between their families, their relationship has to end. As they won't even consider a separation, the only way out of the situation they find themselves in is by taking their own lives.

The so-called "Bad Quarto" of Shakespeare's Hamlet is the first known version of this world-famous tragedy. Published in 1603, this text is significantly shorter, has some divergent character names, and contains different renditions of some of the play's most famous lines. Some scholars believe that the Bad Quarto is a pirated edition, written down by one or more of the company actors, while others think that it is Shakespeare's first attempt that he later revised and expanded.

In Verona, Italy, two young people in love defy the demands of their families and pursue their love for one another above societal expectations. Their decisions and pursuit of love send ripples throughout their family and friend circles, causing controversy and consequences. For centuries, the tale of the young star-crossed lovers has been a mainstay of both the literary canon and popular culture. This is one of William Shakespeare’s most known and beloved works with timeless themes and prose.

This entertaining introduction to Shakespeare's work weaves biographical information with excerpts from 33 of his plays. Informative, well-researched commentary, written by two Royal Shakespeare Company actors, provides a glimpse of the man and little-known lore about his work.

Inferno follows Dante through hell, with only an roman poet named Virgil to guide him. Dante loses his way in a forest and stumbles across Hell; but Virgil tells him that if he ventures through hell he can reach Heaven where his beloved awaits....

William Squire, Corin Redgrave, Derek Jacobi, and Trevor Nunn perform Shakespeare's play about the fortunes of an Athenian named Timon. He loves to give parties and presents to friends, but when he cannot pay his creditors, his 'friends' refuse to help him, and he becomes a misanthropic hermit.

A stage adaptation of Emily Bronte's "Wuthering Heights."

No existe en la historia de la literatura una parábola más sencilla y luminosa que la de Sherezada y Sahrigar para explicar la razón de ser de la ficción en la vida de los seres humanos. Para Sherezada contar cuentos que capturen la atención del Rey es cuestión de vida o muerte. Si Sahrigar se desinteresa o se aburre de sus historias, será entregada al verdugo con las primeras luces del alba. Ese peligro mortal aguza su fantasía y la lleva, sin saberlo, a descubrir que el mundo de la ficción es, como el mundo real, uno, diverso e irrompible.

A solo recording of Twelfth Night in an American dialect.

Charles Dickens was 31 and the author of six major works when he became outraged by the working conditions of children. With the hope that he could move more readers to action, he wrote A Christmas Carol in 6 weeks. But even with a sold-out publishing run, the funds available were insufficient now that his wife was pregnant with their fifth child. Dickens loved the theatre and took to reading A Christmas Carol to audiences. The novella soon gained fame, and millions of copies have been sold making the phrase “Merry Christmas” universal. Note from the author: “About twenty years ago, ...

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.

How do any of us really know who we are? A man arrives in a strange town only to find that everyone knows his name, but thinks he’s someone else. A woman wonders why her husband is not the man he was, but starts to rather like it. Confusion mounts as everyone uncouples from themselves. Will they ever find themselves again? And do they really want to?

TV star James Warwick and award-winning narrator/comedienne Alison Larkin star in this accessible, dazzlingly funny two-actor production of The Importance of Being Earnest--a trivial comedy for serious people. We're in England in 1895. Algy and Jack are debonair bachelors-about-town who plan to court Gwendolen and Cecily, despite opposition from the formidable Lady Bracknell.

David Ian Davies performs this unique and exciting reading of William Shakespeare's erotic poem, The Rape of Lucrece - not available on cassette or CD!