Classic Plays

Leontes, suspecting his wife's infidelity, imprisons her and exiles her infant daughter to a faraway island. Years later, his wife, presumed dead, is returned to him as a statue.

King Lear divides his kingdom between his two duplicitous daughters, banishing the loving Cordelia and the steadfast Kent. These and other acts of folly launch a hugely moving search for dignity, self-knowledge and wisdom on the grandest of scales.

After vowing to avoid women, the king and three of his friends have to host a princess and her three ladies. The four men fall in love and decide to court the women. In the end, the women must return to their kingdom for a year after which they will marry the king and his friends, providing they remain true to them.

Apollon Evgen'evich Okojomov - pomeshhik, krasavec-muzhchina, kotoryj zhivjot v schastlivom brake v uezdnom gorodke Brjahimove. Buduchi v Moskve on proigralsja v karty i zalez v dolgi. Okojomov reshil vskruzhit' golovu moskovskoj millionershe Obolduevoj i tem samym popravit' svoi finansovye dela. Dlja togo, chtoby pretendovat' na pridanoe Obolduevoj, Apollon reshaet srazu razvestis' s zhenoj. Razvod on poluchit, tol'ko esli ulichit suprugu v nevernosti.

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.

In the jungle of Southern India the Seeonee Wolf-Pack has a new cub. He is not a wolf - he is Mowgli, a human child, but he knows nothing of the world of men. He lives and hunts with his brothers the wolves. Baloo the bear and Bagheera the panther are his friends and teachers. And Shere Khan, the man-eating tiger, is his enemy.Kipling’s famous story of Mowgli’s adventures in the jungle has been loved by young and old for more than a hundred years.

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.

In Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark has recently lost his father, but his mother is in a hurry to marry her late husband's brother. Hamlet is overwhelmed with grief for his father's death but also outraged because of the hurried marriage. Most people don't realize that there are three versions of Hamlet, printed at different times. There is a considerable difference between the texts of these versions, so to have a "complete" version of this play, editors had to make some adjustments. The three texts are simply different versions of the play.

Ignoring the opportunity to own a comprehensive guide to one of the world's most creative literary minds would be an Elizabethan tragedy of modern proportions. Elevating your intellect to become a Shakespeare connoisseur has never been easier or this much fun with The Great American Bathroom Book Shakespeare edition!

This adaptation of Charles Dickens's beloved novella, A Christmas Carol, attempts to convey this wonderful story of a covetous old sinner's redemption into a two hour long performance. In its narration, some slight liberties have been taken to make accessible obscure words and references that some modern listeners may find challenging. The retained dialogues and dialects are those of Charles Dickens and remain faithful to his writing.

Shakespeare's King John is a rarely performed history which tells the story of John's turbulent reign from 1199 to 1216. King John goes to war against the French after claims that his nephew should be king instead. John has conflict with the church, orders his nephew's death and turns the nobles against himself. In the end, John dies from poison, the French retreat and his son becomes king.

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.

A classic comedy by the great Oscar Wilde. The Importance of Being Earnest is his short farce consisting of numerous noms de plume, a case of mistaken identity, an identity left in a case by mistake, and the mistake of revealing ones identity in the presence of a previous employer, which may result post-script in a case for Scotland Yard. Or to put much more simply, of Jack and his attempts to woo Gwendolyn, his would-be bride... even if she does seem to think his name is Earnest.

Жестокая красавица китайская принцесса Турандот не желает выходить замуж. Чтобы женихи не одолевали, она придумала им невыполнимую задачу - разгадать три труднейшие загадки, а кто не угадает - того казнить. Но поток влюблённых не иссякает. Каждому прибывающему очередному жениху она загадывает свои загадки, после чего несчастного уводят на казнь. Но вот появляется ещё один влюблённый....

Спектакль "Потерянное письмо" по одноименной комедии румынского писателя, драматурга И.Л.Караджале (1852 - 1912). Действие комедии разворачивается в провинциальном городке вокруг парламентских выборов. Они проходят в обстановке произвола, шантажа, подкупа, закулисных махинаций, типичных для буржуазно-помещичьей Румынии. Абсолютную неразборчивость в средствах достижения успеха демонстрируют обе партии - правящая и оппозиционная....

David Ian Davies performs this unique and exciting reading of William Shakespeare's erotic poem, The Rape of Lucrece - not available on cassette or CD!