Classic Plays

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.

Shakespeare is often referred to as the great teacher of life and for a good reason, too. His tales offer worldly wisdom on tap and a great abundance of it. In this collection of Shakespeare tales, we offer those that perhaps more than others teach us important lessons.

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.

This remarkable collection contains some of William Shakespeare's most famous speeches, soliloquies, and sonnets, as performed by Sir John Gielgud, the preeminent Shakespearean actor of the 20th century. Ages of Man is a perfect introduction to Shakespeare for the uninitiated and a thrilling treat for aficionados.

Greybeards at Play is a short collection of humorous poetry by celebrated British writer and social commentator, Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874-1936). Published in 1900, it was Chesterton's first publication. These rhymes and sketches spin witty lyrics around themes such as aestheticism, the philosopher's love of nature, and ill-directed altruism, in true Chestertonian style.

In this fast-paced introduction, Ros King sets out to remind us of the sheer beauty and sophistication that can make Shakespeare’s works a joy for any audience. Exploring his invention and wit, along with his uncanny characterisation, King argues archaic language should be no barrier to the modern reader. This guide summarises the Bard’s life and background, detailing his plays and poetry in such a way that they are made accessible enough for everyone to admire.

Here, in all 154 of Shakespeare's immortal sonnets, addressed to a friend about the woman he loves and to his muse. We discover the promise of youth, the ecstasy of love, and the devastation of loss.

Few plays have had more impact than William Shakespeare's Hamlet. With this new guide, you will have an even greater understanding of the play. Included in this guide: a biography of author William Shakespeare, a look at the play's context and its literary elements, detailed scene summaries, character analysis, and much more. This is the definitive guide to Hamlet, concise, easy to understand, and guaranteed to add to your enjoyment of this classic play.

In this, Shakespeare's last play, the dark themes of punishment and loss give way to those of forgiveness and new beginnings. The plot involves a shipwreck on a fantastic island where friends reunite, love blooms, and magic reigns.

King Richard II rules England in a wasteful and short-sighted way, spending money unwisely and selecting his counsellors foolishly. His manner ostracises him from his people and his country and it’s not long before both commoners and noblemen feel Richard has gone too far. When Richard seizes land that rightfully belongs to his cousin Henry Bolingbroke, Bolingbroke retaliates by invading England while Richard is at war in Ireland. More popular with the commoners, Henry is eventually crowned King Henry IV.

These six plays are Japanese classics from the 14th century and are presented in the order of a traditional Nō programme. Nō, the Japanese word for "skill", is a form of Japanese musical drama that originated in the eighth century, and is the oldest major theatre art that still survives today. Alongside Nō plays were kyōgen plays, which were short works typically inserted as a comedic interlude of sorts between the more classical Nō performances.

Award-winning narrator Mike Vendetti recites "Sonnet 18" by William Shakespeare.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream is one of William Shakespeare’s most well-known comedies and is arguably one of his most beloved plays. The play tells the tale of the misadventures of the people gathering to participate in their marriage of the duke of Athens and Hippolyta, former queen of the Amazons.

Arguably the greatest love story ever told, Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet continues to touch modern audiences with its passionate depiction of the tragic romance between two young lovers. With a bitter feud between their respective families, Romeo and Juliet’s love is troubled from the start, and through their relationship, Shakespeare shows the fine line between love, hatred, comedy and tragedy.

Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, encounters his father's ghost. When he learns that his uncle, now King and married to his mother, was responsible for the death of his royal father, he sets out to avenge the murder.

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

This production is abridged and in plain English. Timon of Athens (The Life of Tymon of Athens) is perhaps Shakespeare's sharpest satire on wealth, greed, and betrayal. Scholars generally classify Timon either as a tragedy or a problem play.

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.

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