Classic Plays

Richard, duke of Gloucester, schemes to inherit the throne by killing all who stand in his way - including his own brother and the two young sons of King Edward IV.

The predominant theme in this Shakespearean tragedy, believed to have been written in about 1603, is jealousy and the destruction it causes when allowed to run rampant. It features one of Shakespeare's most compelling villains, Iago, who skillfully manipulates his commander, Othello, into believing that he has been betrayed by his wife, Desdemona, and his closest friend, Cassio.

Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately reconcile their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetime. Shakespeare's use of his poetic dramatic structure, especially effects such as switching between comedy and tragedy to heighten tension, his expansion of minor characters, and his use of subplots to embellish the story, has been praised as an early sign of his dramatic skill.

The young Danish Prince, Hamlet, is vexed by a trip home to Denmark from school in Germany, to attend his father, the king's funeral. Upon arriving at home, Hamlet has discovered that his mother has already become married to the former King's brother, Hamlet's uncle. What's more, the man has declared himself to be King of Denmark even though Hamlet was the true and rightful heir. Hamlet is enraged by this deception, and immediately suspects foul play in his father's murder.

Shakespeare's Sonnets cover themes such as the passage of time, love, beauty, and mortality. The first 17 poems, traditionally called the procreation sonnets, are addressed to a young man urging him to marry and have children in order to immortalize his beauty by passing it to the next generation. Other sonnets brood upon loneliness, death, and the transience of life; seem to criticize the young man for preferring a rival poet; and more. Please note: This audiobook is in Russian.

Rómeó er í öngum sínum yfir stúlku sem vill ekkert með hann hafa, svo vinur hans tekur hann með sér í veislu í von um að aðrar fallegar stúlkur muni leiða hugann frá henni. Það tekst svo sannarlega. Þegar Rómeó læsir augunum við unga Júlíu er ást við fyrstu sýn. Til allrar óhamingju uppgötva Rómeó og Júlía brátt að þau tilheyra fjölskyldum sem eiga í ættardeilum og verða þau að halda rómantík sinni leyndri. Frægasta ástarsaga sem skrifuð hefur verið, Rómeó og Júlía, er vísun í bæði hreina sanna ást og harmleik.

The 1590s were bleak years for England. The queen was old, the succession unclear, and the treasury empty after decades of war. Amid the rising tension, William Shakespeare published a pair of poems dedicated to the young Earl of Southampton: Venus and Adonis in 1593 and The Rape of Lucrece a year later. Although wildly popular during Shakespeare's lifetime, to modern readers both works are almost impenetrable. But in her enthralling new book, the Shakespearean scholar Clare Asquith reveals their hidden contents.

Izdanie vkljuchaet velikolepnyj sbornik rasskazov vydajushhegosja amerikanskogo pisatelja Dzheka Londona o prikljuchenijah hudozhnika Kristofera Bell'ju vo vremja Klondajkskoj "zolotoj lihoradki" :Povest' o malen'kom cheloveke Kak veshali Kul'tus Dzhordzha Oshibka mirozdanija Jaichnaja afera Firma Tra-liNa chto sposobna zhenshhina.

This collection of letters and excerpts from Mr. Dickens' novels, edited by Mr. Woollcott, shows us how infatuated the author was with the theater. His correspondences with Macready and Forster are brimming with reviews (both good and bad) of plays that the author attended. Mr. Woollcott also included theater-related excerpts from David Copperfield, Great Expectations, and, of course, Nicholas Nickleby. A delight for lovers of Dickens and of the stage!

"Sein oder Nichtsein, das ist hier die Frage!" Der dänische Prinz Hamlet weiß nicht mehr weiter: Einerseits ist er sich sicher, das sein Vater, der König, ermordet wurde, und zwar durch Claudius, dessen Bruder - der jetzt König ist und sogar Hamlets Mutter geheiratet hat. Andererseits ist der wankelmütige, schöngeistige Prinz nicht sicher, ob und wie er seinen Vater rächen soll - obwohl dieser ihn in Gestalt eines Geistes dazu auffordert. Hamlet beschließt auf Zeit zu spielen, und spielt die Rolle des Verrückten. Doch dies macht nicht nur seiner Geliebten Ophelia zu schaffen.

In Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare creates a violent world, in which two young people fall in love. It is not simply that their families disapprove; the Montagues and the Capulets are engaged in a blood feud. In this death-filled setting, the movement from love at first sight to the lovers’ final union in death seems almost inevitable. And yet, this play set in an extraordinary world has become the quintessential story of young love. In part because of its exquisite language, it is easy to respond as if it were about all young lovers.

An Enemy of the People is an 1882 play by the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen, who wrote it in response to the public outcry against his previous play, Ghosts, which challenged the hypocrisy of 19th-century morality. An Enemy of the People tells the story of a man who dares to speak an unpalatable truth and is punished for it. Ibsen uses the language of comic exaggeration through the mouth of his spokesman, the idealist Doctor Thomas Stockmann, who rejects all absolute principles of either wisdom or morality.

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....

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 multi-award winning SmartPass full-cast, unabridged performance with comprehensive commentary and analysis for any student to fully understand and appreciate the play.

The dead do not sleep in Denmark. Thrice the vision of the suddenly departed king has haunted the night watchmen. Upon seeing his own son, prince Hamlet, the ghost calls him away to divulge most nefarious secret. This most noble king was murdered by his own brother, Hamlet's uncle, who now wears his crown and beds his bride. To the prince he charges with the unholy quest to avenge his death and kill his murderer. Young Hamlet, shocked and amazed, swears to do the bloody deed. Thus begins one of the greatest works by the greatest English author - William Shakespeare.

Hamlet was written between 1597 and 1600, just after the death of Shakespeare’s only son, Hamnet, one of twins, who died aged 11 in 1596. Despite scholarly argument that this was mere coincidence, it is impossible to believe that a writer as sensitive as Shakespeare would not be questioning the reason for the life and death of his son during those years.This production contends that Hamlet was to a large degree shaped by the answers to those questions.

A brave Scottish general named Macbeth receives a prophecy from a trio of witches that one day he will become King of Scotland. Consumed by ambition and spurred to action by his wife, Macbeth murders King Duncan and takes the Scottish throne for himself. He is then wracked with guilt and paranoia. Forced to commit more and more murders to protect himself from enmity and suspicion, he soon becomes a tyrannical ruler. The bloodbath and consequent civil war swiftly take Macbeth and Lady Macbeth into the realms of madness and death.

Richard III completes the cycle of plays covering the Wars of the Roses. It’s the story of Richard, duke of Gloucester’s villainous plan to take the throne. It is a tale of jealousy, manipulation and deceit based on Sir Thomas More's unfinished - and largely untrue - History of King Richard III....

Roman General Coriolanus makes his name defeating an enemy army and defending Rome. The Senate nominates him as consul, but he cannot win the people's vote, so he is banished from Rome and allies with his old enemy. He comes to attack Rome, his mother persuades him not to and his new-found ally kills him for the betrayal.