Classic Plays

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.

A Midsummer Night's Dream is a comedy play set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One subplot involves a conflict among four Athenian lovers. Another follows a group of six amateur actors rehearsing the play which they are to perform before the wedding. Both groups find themselves in a forest inhabited by fairies who manipulate the humans and are engaged in their own domestic intrigue. The play is one of Shakespeare's most popular plays.

Theseus wird Hippolyta heiraten, zwei Paare verlieben sich, verkrachen sich, verlieben sich erneut, der Elfenkönig Oberon hat Streit mit seiner Frau, eine Schar untalentierter Handwerker soll ein dramatisches Theaterstück aufführen. Shakespeares Komödien-Dauerbrenner hat alle Zutaten für eine Hollywood-Screwball-Comedy.

Prospero, eigentlich Herzog von Mailand, hat durch eine Intrige seine Macht verloren und fristet mit seiner Tochter Miranda auf einer unwirtlichen Insel sein Leben, das er der Magie gewidmet hat. Als ein Schiff mit den Übeltätern Alonso, Antonio und Sebastian des Weges kommt, sieht Prospero die Stunde der Rache gekommen. Er befiehlt Ariel, seinem dienstbaren Geist, einen Sturm heraufzubeschwören, um das Schiff und seine Passagiere tüchtig durchzuschütteln. Die vermeintlich Schiffbrüchigen retten sich auf Prosperos Insel - und das Spiel seiner Vergeltung beginnt.

Bassanio braucht Geld, denn er will Portia, die schönste aller Frauen, für sich gewinnen. Antonio will ihm helfen, doch ist er gerade nicht flüssig - sein Geld steckt in Handelsschiffen, die auf dem Meer kreuzen. Also gehen sie zu Shylock. Dieser will ihnen das Geld geben, doch als Sicherheit will er nicht etwa Zinsen, sondern ein Pfund Fleisch - und zwar von Antonio! Dessen Schiffe werden plötzlich vermisst, und nun steht es schlecht für Antonio... Shakespeares Klassiker ist noch immer ein beliebter Dauerbrenner auf den Bühnen.

Valentine sets off from Verona for Milan to see the world. Proteus stays at home because of his love for Julia. She is in love with him, but neither knows of the other's love until Lucetta shows Julia a love letter from Proteus. He is reading her reply when his father, Antonio, sends him to the Duke's court to join Valentine. The lovers take their leave and swear eternal constancy.

Escrito por Franz Kafka, é a historia de dois amigos que não conseguiram se despedir. A mensagem do conto é bem bonita. A saída da zona de conforto; do status quo. A não conformidade com o presente; a vontade de mudar. A necessidade de simplesmente começar a mudança, sem pensar em planejamentos, sem levar muito tempo. A necessidade de ser ajudado no caminho, significando que não podemos atingir muitos objetivos sozinhos.

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.

"A Queda da Casa de Usher" de Edgar Allan Poe narra a visita de um homem à sombria mansão de seu amigo de infância, Roderick Usher. Envolto em mistério e melancolia, o protagonista testemunha os efeitos devastadores de uma maldição familiar, culminando na trágica destruição da casa e dos últimos Usher.

Hamlet and Macbeth are two of Shakespeare's best-known plays and contain some of the most famous speeches in world literature. These one-act versions of the plays, which were edited by J. P. Crabb (the details of whose life and other works have disappeared into obscurity) retain the significant monologues and dialogues while presenting a streamlined view of the action.

The so-called "Bad Quarto" of Shakespeare's Hamlet is the first known version of this world-famous tragedy. Published in 1603, this text is significantly shorter, has some divergent character names, and contains different renditions of some of the play's most famous lines. Some scholars believe that the Bad Quarto is a pirated edition, written down by one or more of the company actors, while others think that it is Shakespeare's first attempt that he later revised and expanded.

The Taming of the Shrew is a classic comedy by William Shakespeare featuring characters Petruchio and Katherina. The work is deeply laden with sexism and gender issues as Petruchio "tames" Katherina in an increasingly abusive relationship. A classic throughout the ages, you simply must hear this story.

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.

War and intrigue define the court of the young King Henry VI, who must struggle to maintain dominion of France now that forces have been rallied against him by a young maiden, known by the people as Joan of Arc. The first part of William Shakespeare's War of the Roses tetralogy.

When a handsome young man begins to court Catherine Sloper, she feels she is very lucky. She is a quiet, gentle girl, but neither beautiful nor clever; no one had ever admired her before, or come to the front parlour of her home in Washington Square to whisper soft words of love to her. But in New York in the 1840s young ladies are not free to marry where they please. Catherine must have her father’s permission, and Dr Sloper is a rich man.

Julius Caesar triumphantly returns to Rome, where he is met by betrayal, conspiracy, and, ultimately, assassination, followed by Mark Antony's revenge on the plotters. The drama is also the story of Marcus Brutus and his struggle between the conflicting demands of his friendship with Caesar and his loyalty to Roman ideals.

In this, Shakespeare's most fantastical comedy, the fairy world wreaks havoc with the foolish mortal one as a lover's nightmare melts into an innocent dream. Under the canopy of a moonlit forest, pairs of lovers and five delightfully inept "mechanicals" weave a web of magic.

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

Elizabeth Gaskell, famed author of Cranford, is cherished for her incise social observations and portrayals of the changing nature of English life through the Industrial Revolution of the Victorian era. Mr. Harrison's Confessions is a warm, funny portrait of life in a small English town. Following the young Doctor Harrison, we hear of his practice and his courting in this charming tale.

In this great tragedy, Macbeth's ambition to fulfill the three witches' prophecy that he will become King of Scotland spurs him and his wife to assassinate King Duncan. But for persistant ghosts, Lady Macbeth's conscience, and the vengeance of Duncan's son, they might have gotten away with murder!