Showing results by author "William Shakespeare" in All Categories

Much Ado About Nothing is generally considered one of Shakespeare's best comedies, because it combines elements of robust hilarity with more serious meditations on honor, shame, and court politics. The play includes two quite different stories of romantic love. Hero and Claudio fall in love almost at first sight, but an outsider, Don John, strikes out at their happiness. Beatrice and Benedick are kept apart by pride and mutual antagonism until others decide to play Cupid.

The English language has grown into the world’s pre-dominant spoken language, containing over one million words. Its sources are rich and diverse, having absorbed words from other cultures and times without hesitation. With such talents as Shakespeare, Keats, Shelley, Kipling, Blake, and many other classic poets using this most flexible language to render their thoughts and visions, it is no wonder that the beauty and reach of English entrances us.

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

Pericles, prince of Tyre, sets out to woo a princess and sails headlong into harrowing adventure. Pursued by an evil king, Pericles is blown from port to exotic port. Along the way he finds the love of his life, then loses her and their infant daughter in a storm-tossed sea. Happily, this is a romance - Shakespeare's first - where, in true storybook fashion, miracles reunite the lost with those who love them, bringing joy and safe harbor at last.

Blackstone Audio is proud to present the Oregon Shakespeare Festival's 2014 production of The Tempest, Shakespeare's magical romantic comedy, directed by Tony Taccone. This stunning work of audio theater, fully dramatized with performances by the OSF cast, is a must-listen.

Ages of Man is a one-man play performed by John Gielgud of a collection of speeches from Shakespeare's plays. The speeches show the journey of life from birth to death. Gielgud gave the first experimental performance of Ages of Man in a house in St. James Square in London. It premiered at the Freemason's Hall at the 1957 Edinburgh Festival to a sold-out house and an overwhelming success.

Antonio's friend Bassanio is in love and needs money to go courting. Using Antonio as his collateral, he borrows money from Shylock. But when the debt comes due, Shylock demands repayment in the form of a pound of Antonio's flesh. Hugh Griffin, Harry Andrews, Ian Holm and Roy Dotrice perform Shakespeare's tragicomedy.

Now is the winter of our discontent... - Richard, Duke of Gloucester A Shakespeare Society Production. The complete play in five acts...

Friendship, betrayal, wisdom, humour, epic romance, jealousy, adventure, bravery and murder. There's everything in those iconic Shakespeare stories. His work transcends generations and appeals endlessly to other writers. His dramatic structures are both simple and complicated, intertwined with numerous relationships, which reappear in our lives again and again. This iconic collection of Shakespeare tales includes 20 of his most prominent works adapted by Edith Nesbit and transformed into modern English.

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

""All the world's a stage."" —Jaques The complete play in five acts. A Shakespeare Recording Society Production. A full-cast performance featuring Vanessa Redgrave, Keith Michell, Max Adrian, Stanley Holloway and Others As You Like It is quintessential Shakespearean comedy, complete with a...

Two couples—Benedick and Beatrice, and Hero and Claudio—must overcome deception, gossip, and, occasionally, their own misplaced pride if their love is to persevere. Aided by military commander Don Pedro and impeded by his brother Don John, the friends go to great lengths in the pursuit of...

Henry VIII folis a plot by the scheming Cardinal Wolsey and rejects his 20-year marriage with the tragic Katherine of Aragon. All the while he is keeping his wandering eye on the beautiful Anne Boleyn.

Bassiano, a noble Venetian, hopes to woo the beautiful heiress Portia. However, he requires financial assistance from his friend Antonio. Antonio agrees, but he, in turn, must borrow from the Jewish moneylender Shylock. As recourse for past ills, Shylock stipulates that the forfeit on the loan must be a pound of Antonio’s flesh. In the most renowned onstage law scene of all time, Portia proves herself one of Shakespeare’s most cunning heroines, disguising herself as a lawyer and vanquishing Shylock’s claims....

The aging King Lear decides to divide his kingdom among his three daughters - with tragic results. This is a full-cast recording of what is considered to be one of Shakespeare's greatest plays, based on the legend of 'Leir of Britain', a mythological pre-Roman Celtic king.

""Is this a dagger I see before me?"" Features a unique cover illustration by Maurice Sendak (Where the Wild Things Are), specially commissioned for the Shakespeare on Compact Disc series...

"King Lear" is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare, depicting the gradual descent into madness of the title character after he disposes of his kingdom giving bequests to two of his three daughters based on their flattery of him, bringing tragic consequences for all. The play is derived from the legend of Leir of Britain, a mythological pre-Roman Celtic king; after the English Restoration, it was often revised with a happy ending for audiences who disliked its dark and depressing tone, but since the nineteenth century, Shakespeare's original version has been regarded as one of his supreme achievements.

Includes selections from Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, and the Sonnets.

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.

Believing his wife, Hermione, to be unfaithful, King Leontes of Sicilia, orders her new-born child abandoned in the wilderness. But when Hermione’s fidelity is proven by the divinations of the Oracle of Delphi, Leontes is cursed to have no heir until his daughter is found. Sixteen years later...