Classic Plays

Paul Scofield, Siobhan McKenna and John Neville perform Twelfth Night. This is Shakespeare's comedy of gender confusion, in which a girl disguises herself as a man to be near the count she adores - only to be pursued by the woman he loves.

The first volume of David Timson's series retelling of the stories from Shakespeare's plays was widely praised by newspaper and educators alike. Here is volume 2, with more key plays. Including Julius Caesar, The Merchant of Venice, and Henry IV, all texts which regularly appear on the exam syllabus. As before, the stories are illustrated by numerous examples from the plays themselves. They are read by two leading Shakespearean actors, Juliet Stevenson and Alex Jennings.

Discover the genius of William Shakespeare in this entertaining and educational full-cast drama, designed to whet the appetite and introduce you to the man, the life, the legacy. Includes key scenes from the major plays.

Beliefs and passions become intertwined with betrayal and violence in this classic adventure tale, performed in exciting Radio Theatre style by a full cast.

A solo recording of A Midsummer Night's Dream in an American dialect.

A solo recording of Hamlet in an American dialect.

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....

A selection of classic poetry beautifully enhanced by classical music. Poets include Keats, Wordsworth, and Owen.

Oscar Wilde's Salome was originally published in French in 1891 and translated into English by Lord Alfred Douglas. This one-act play, a sinister tale of a woman scorned and her vengeance, has become a landmark of Decadent literature. The play tells the biblical story of Salome, stepdaughter of the tetrarch Herod Antipas, who, to her stepfather's dismay but to the delight of her mother Herodias, requests the head of John the Baptist on a silver platter as a reward for dancing the dance of the seven veils.

Trojan Prince Troilus falls in love with Cressida as war rages around them. After vowing to be faithful, Cressida is traded to the Greek camp, where she then agrees to see another man. Troilus witnesses Cressida's unfaithfulness and vows to put more effort into the war. The play ends after further deaths on both sides and with no resolution in sight.

The story revolves around its two central characters: Othello, a Moorish general in the Venetian army, and his unfaithful ensign, Iago. This is one of the most prolific Shakespeare works, featuring themes of passion, jealousy, love, betrayal, revenge and repentance. This edition of Othello is an adaptation of Shakespeare's eponymous drama, narrated in plain modern English, capturing the very essence and key elements of the original Shakespeare work. Read in English, unabridged.

Troilus and Cressida is set during the latter years of the Trojan War, faithfully following the plotline of the Iliad from Achilles' refusal to participate in battle to Hector's death. This full-cast dramatization is performed by The Marlowe Society.

King Lear divides his kingdom between his two duplicitous daughters, banishing the loving Cordelia and the steadfast Kent. These and other acts of folly launch a hugely moving search for dignity, self-knowledge and wisdom on the grandest of scales.

Nathan the Wise, a play published by Gotthold Ephraim Lessing in 1779, is a fervent plea for religious tolerance. It was first performed in 1783 at the Döbbelinsches Theatre in Berlin. The narrative is set in Jerusalem during the Third Crusade and describes how the wise Jewish merchant Nathan, the enlightened sultan Saladin, and a Templar Knight bridge the differences between Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. Its major themes are friendship, tolerance, the relativism of God, a rejection of miracles and a need for communication.

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.

Pride, justice, and vengeance. Aristocracy and democracy vie for ultimate power over Rome, and each faction violently erupts when Coriolanus takes the political stage. After receiving glorious accolades for taking an enemy city when the plebian soldiers cowered without the gates, the common people find his arrogance and pride offensive. Now, banished from the very city for which he was prepared to lay down his life, he strikes up an unholy alliance with his country's enemies.

The Roman General Titus Andronicus returns from war with four prisoners who vow to take revenge against him. They rape and mutilate Titus' daughter and have his sons killed and banished. Titus kills two of them and cooks them into a pie, which he serves to their mother before killing her, too. The Roman emperor kills Titus, and Titus' last remaining son kills the emperor and takes his place.

This is a bitter, satiric comedy which concerns a wealthy, lecherous old man who pretends to be dying in order to profit from his greedy acquaintances.

Shakespeare se tornou o dramaturgo mais conhecido de todos os tempos por várias razões: era genial com as palavras, entendia a alma humana como ninguém e falava de temas universais. No entanto, parte de sua popularidade se deve aos irmãos Charles e Mary Lamb, que, ao adaptarem vinte peças para o formato de conto, tornaram as histórias do autor inglês acessíveis a pessoas de diferentes idades e gêneros, em diversas partes do mundo. Publicados em 1807, os contos dos Lamb eram destinados apenas ao público infantojuvenil e jovens senhoras....

The Cherry Orchard (1903) is the final play by the Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. It is considered as one of four outstanding plays by Chekhov, along with The Seagull, Three Sisters, and Uncle Vanya. The narrative recounts an aristocratic landowner who returns to her family estate just before it is auctioned to pay the mortgage. It dramatizes the socio-economic developments in Russia at the turn of the 20th century, including the rise of the middle class after the abolition of serfdom and the waning power of the aristocracy.