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.

A magical tale of enchantment, retribution and love. Prospero, the rightful Duke of Milan, is betrayed by his brother and exiled to a desert island with his daughter Miranda. With the help of Ariel, a spirit, he uses his supernatural powers to shipwreck his brother and others on the same island. With a series of illusions, he regains his rightful place and finds a husband for his daughter.

A shipwreck separates Viola and her twin brother Sebastian. She lands in the magical and melancholy kingdom of Illyria, where nearly everybody dances some step to the music of Love.

Hamlet is one of the great classics, if not the greatest, of English drama. Set in Denmark, the play 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.

Shakespeare's comedy is performed by a cast including Derek Godfrey, Patrick Garland, Prunella Scales and Peter Pears.

Othello is a tragedy play by William Shakespeare, written in the middle of his career in 1603. The story follows Othello, a general in the Venetian army, and Iago, a treacherous soldier who conspires against him to make him believe that his wife is unfaithful.

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.

Naxos AudioBooks presents the history of the Plantaganets as seen through the eyes of Shakespeare. These easy-to-understand introductions feature key speeches and scenes from the plays themselves, and are very accessible for children approaching Shakespeare for the first time, as well as being an invaluable aid to the history of the Plantaganets, from Richard II to Richard III. This set covers Richard II, Henry IV parts 1 and 2, Henry V, Henry VI parts 1, 2, and 3, and Richard III.

Istorija, kotoruju rasskazyvaet Aleksandr Nikolaevich Ostrovskij v p'ese "Serdce ne kamen'", stara, kak mir. V bogatom kupecheskom dome, slovno ptica v kletke, tomitsja molodaja krasavica Vera Filippovna. V pjatnadcat' let ona vyshla zamuzh za bogacha Karkunova. Ljubvi Vera Filippovna k muzhu ne pitala, no buduchi porjadochnoj baryshnej byla emu vernoj zhenoj.

«Krazha» - luchshaja drama Londona. Jeta istorija objedinila i ljubovnye otnoshenija, i spekuljaciju politicheskimi interesami, muzhestvennye postupki i otkrovennoe predatel'stvo. Po svidetel'stvu ego zheny Charmian London, pisatel', sozdav «Krazhu», schital, chto na sej raz on napisal «dovol'no horoshuju p'esu». Odnako n'ju-jorkskie teatral'nye agentstva, kotorym dramaturg predlozhil svoe proizvedenie, edinodushno ot nego otkazalis', i Londonu tak i ne udalos' uvidet' «Krazhu» v scenicheskom ispolnenii.

Irine, mladshej iz trjoh sestjor Prozorovyh, ispolnjaetsja dvadcat' let. «Na dvore solnechno, veselo», a v zale nakryvaetsja stol, zhdut gostej - oficerov raskvartirovannoj v gorode artillerijskoj batarei i novogo ejo komandira podpolkovnika Vershinina. Vse polny radostnyh ozhidanij i nadezhd.

Vechnye problemy otcov i detej, vernosti i predatel'stva. Na scene ujutnyj, chisten'kij mir meshhanki Anny Markovny Celovan'evoj. K nej pribyli znatnye i bogatye gosti - lesopromyshlennik Antipa Zykov s synom Mihailom i sestroj Sof'ej, - chtoby sladit' pomolvku docheri Celovan'evoj Pavly s Mihailom. Celovan'eva rada - Mihail hot' i p'et, no tih, dobr i pokladist. Sochinjaet stihi, igraet na gitare. Bogat, i k tomu zhe edinstvennyj naslednik. Odnako Antipa sam polozhil glaz na Pavlu: «Idi za menjm...Jeto ja budu tebja molodo ljubit'». I...Pavla soglasna...

P'esa Deti solnca pisalas' v janvare - fevrale 1905 g. v Petropavlovskoj kreposti, v kamere nomer 39 Trubeckogo bastiona, kuda M. Gor'kij byl zakljuchjon 12 janvarja 1905 g. posle aresta po delu o 9 janvarja. Na pervoj stranice rukopisi p'esy, hranjashhejsja v Arhive A. M. Gor'kogo, est' nadpis': Pisalos' v Petropavlovskoj kreposti 16 janvarja - 20 fevralja 1905 goda. Pervaja tetrad'. A. Peshkov. Please note: This audiobook is in Russian.

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?

Sir Michael Morpurgo retells two of Shakespeare’s best-loved plays, Macbeth and Hamlet, in this stunning audio collection in association with the RSC, featuring readings by members of the Royal Shakespeare Company and Michael himself.

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.

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....

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.

Bianca is beautiful and demure, with a plethora of would-be suitors, but marriage is forbidden until her older sister, Katherina, finds a suitable match. The hitch? Fiery Katherina has sworn to deny the hand or demands of any would-be suitor. That is, until she meets her match in the wily Petrucio. As Katherina’s own sharp tongue is met by Petrucio’s feigned cruelty, the ‘shrew’ apparently capitulates. Or does she?

Double-meanings, disguises and dirty laundry abound as Sir John Falstaff sets about improving his financial situation by wooing Mistress Page and Mistress Ford. But the ‘Merry Wives’ quickly cotton on to his tricks and decide to have a bit of fun of their own at Falstaff’s expense.