Shakespeare

Hamlet: Shakespeare Appreciated (Unabridged, Dramatised, Commentary Options)

• UNABRIDGED (11 hrs and 32 mins)
• By William Shakespeare, Simon Potter, Phil Viner, and others
• Narrated By Joan Walker, Stephen Elder, Paul Clayton

Experience Hamlet as a powerful full-cast drama with entertaining and enlightening commentary that explains what's what and who's who as the plot unfolds. To help you get the most out of Shakespeare, the narrator offers historical insights and background information, so you can enjoy the jokes, appreciate the references, and get a real sense of Shakespeare's world. The unabridged drama is also presented without commentary.

King Lear

• UNABRIDGED (3 hrs and 6 mins)
• By William Shakespeare
• Narrated By Paul Scofield, Alec McCowen, Kenneth Branagh

The tragedy of King Lear receives an outstanding performance in an all-star cast led by Britain’s senior classical actor, Paul Scofield. He is joined by Alec McCowen as Gloucester, Kenneth Branagh as The Fool, Harriet Walter as Gonerill, Sara Kestelman as Regan and Emilia Fox as Cordelia. This is the ninth recording of Shakespeare plays undertaken by Naxos AudioBooks in conjunction with Cambridge University Press, and is directed by John Tydeman. It was released to mark the 80th birthday of Paul Scofield in January 2002.

BBC Radio Shakespeare: Antony & Cleopatra (Dramatized)

• ORIGINAL (2 hrs and 55 mins)
• By William Shakespeare
• Narrated By Frances Barber, David Harewood, Full Cast

BBC Radio has a unique heritage when it comes to Shakespeare. Since 1923, when the newly formed company broadcast its first full-length play, generations of actors and producers have honed and perfected the craft of making Shakespeare to be heard.

Richard III: Arkangel Shakespeare

• ORIGINAL (3 hrs and 33 mins)
• By William Shakespeare
• Narrated By David Troughton, Saskia Wickham, Margaret Robertson, and others

Brilliantly manipulative and entirely amoral, the hero-villain Richard is one of Shakespeare's greatest roles. The Yorkists have emerged victorious from the civil wars and Edward IV wears the English crown. But Edward's misshapen brother Richard harbors kingly ambitions and will stop at nothing to achieve the throne. In a fatal battle on Bosworth Field, Richard meets the ghosts of all whom he has murdered and the Earl of Richmond, the future King Henry VII.

Othello (Dramatized)

• ABRIDGED (2 hrs and 36 mins)
• By William Shakespeare
• Narrated By Chiwetel Ejiofor, Ewan McGregor, Kelly Reilly

Shakespeare's Othello is one of his finest and most famous tragedies. This highly acclaimed performance, which ran between November 2007 and February 2008 at the Donmar Warehouse in London, features Chiwetel Ejiofor as the Moor Othello, Ewan McGregor as the scheming Iago, and Kelly Reilly as the gentle Desdemona. This recording features music written specifically for the stage production which enjoyed huge success - each performance was a sell-out.

Romeo and Juliet: The Fully Dramatized Audio Edition

• UNABRIDGED (2 hrs and 56 mins)
• By William Shakespeare
• Narrated By full cast

In Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare creates a tragic 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. This play, set in an extraordinary world, has become the quintessential story of young love. This new full-cast recording - based on the most respected edition of Shakespeare's classic - expertly produced by the Folger Theatre, is perfect for students, teachers, and the everyday listener.

BBC Radio Shakespeare: Julius Caesar (Dramatized)

• ORIGINAL (2 hrs and 20 mins)
• By William Shakespeare
• Narrated By Gerard Murphy, Stella Gonet, Nicholas Farrell, and others

BBC Radio has a unique heritage when it comes to Shakespeare. Since 1923, when the newly formed company broadcast its first full-length play, generations of actors and producers have honed and perfected the craft of making Shakespeare to be heard.

The Tempest

• UNABRIDGED (2 hrs and 7 mins)
• By William Shakespeare
• Narrated By Ian McKellen, Emilia Fox, Scott Handy, and others
• Whispersync for Voice-ready

Sir Ian McKellen, fresh from his performance as Gandalf in Lord of the Rings, is Prospero, and heads a strong cast in Shakespeare’s last great play. The wronged duke raises a tempest to shipwreck his old opponents on his island so that he can ensure justice is done. With Emilia Fox as Miranda, Scott Handy in the pivotal role of the sprite Ariel, and Ben Owukwe as Caliban.

Henry V

• UNABRIDGED (2 hrs and 42 mins)
• By William Shakespeare
• Narrated By Ian McKellen, William Squire, Trevor Nunn

Sir Ian McKellen, William Squire, Trevor Nunn and Gary Watson perform Shakespeare's play that tells the story of King Henry V of England, focusing on events immediately before and after the Battle of Agincourt during the Hundred Years' War.

As You Like It

• UNABRIDGED (2 hrs and 42 mins)
• By William Shakespeare
• Narrated By Kimberly Schraf
• Whispersync for Voice-ready

Girls will be boys as Shakespeare transplants the sophisticated denizens of the court into the starkly simle Forest of Arden. Witty clowns woo country wenches and philosphers wax melancholic as Rosiland follows her heart and Love conquers everybody!

The Gap of Time: The Winter's Tale Retold (Hogarth Shakespeare)

• UNABRIDGED (7 hrs and 9 mins)
• By Jeanette Winterson
• Narrated By Ben Onwukwe, Mark Bazeley, Penelope Rawlins
• Whispersync for Voice-ready

"I saw the strangest sight tonight." New Bohemia. America. A storm. A black man finds a white baby abandoned in the night. He gathers her up - light as a star - and decides to take her home. London. England. After the financial crash. Leo Kaiser knows how to make money, but he doesn't know how to manage the jealousy he feels towards his best friend and his wife. Is his newborn baby even his?

Richard III: A Fully-Dramatized Audio Production From Folger Theatre

• ORIGINAL (3 hrs and 22 mins)
• By William Shakespeare
• Narrated By full cast

In Richard III, Shakespeare invites us on a moral holiday. The play draws us to identify with Richard and his fantasy of total control of self and domination of others. Not yet king at the start of the play, Richard presents himself as an enterprising villain as he successfully plans to dispose of his brother, Clarence. Richard achieves similar success in conquering the woman he chooses to marry. He carves a way to the throne through assassination and executions.

Antony and Cleopatra

• UNABRIDGED (2 hrs and 41 mins)
• By William Shakespeare
• Narrated By Anthony Quayle

Antony and Cleopatra is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607. It was first printed in the First Folio of 1623. The plot is based on Thomas North's translation of Plutarch's Life of Marcus Antonius and follows the relationship between Cleopatra and Mark Antony from the time of the Parthian War to Cleopatra's suicide.

Twelfth Night: Arkangel Shakespeare

• ORIGINAL (2 hrs and 11 mins)
• By William Shakespeare
• Narrated By Niamh Cusack, Jonathan Firth, Amanda Root, and others

Shakespeare's most sophisticated comedy is a riotous tale of hopelessly unrequited passions and mistaken identity. Duke Orsino is in love with the noblewoman Olivia. She, however, has fallen for his servant Cesario, who is actually Viola, a woman disguised as a man, who loves Orsino: Confusion is rife. Meanwhile, Olivia's arrogant steward Malvolio is cruelly tricked by her uncle Sir Toby Belch, his friend Sir Andrew Aguecheek, and the maidservant Maria into believing his mistress loves him.

The Rape of Lucrece

• UNABRIDGED (58 mins)
• By William Shakespeare
• Narrated By Richard Burton

Richard Burton reads Shakespeare's narrative poem about the legendary Lucretia (or 'Lucrece'). The poem tells the story of the Roman leader Tarquin's rape of Lucrece and her subsequent suicide.

'Venus and Adonis' and 'The Rape of Lucrece'

• UNABRIDGED (3 hrs and 18 mins)
• By William Shakespeare
• Narrated By David Burke, Eve Best, Clare Corbett, and others

These two great poems date from Shakespeare’s early years and are full of passion and invention. In Venus and Adonis, the goddess of love pleads with the beautiful boy to submit to her advances and become her love - but he only wants to hunt boar. In the more serious Rape of Lucrece, Shakespeare draws on the Roman tale of the Emperor Tarquin’s desire for Lucrece and its tragic consequencies. These poems give prominent parts to the two heroines, and Clare Corbett and Eve Best shine.

As You Like It

• UNABRIDGED (2 hrs and 30 mins)
• By William Shakespeare
• Narrated By Vanessa Redgrave, Keith Michell, Max Adrian, and others

"All the world's a stage...." In the enchanted forest of Arden, everyone has their way. Sins are forgiven, quarrels are resolved, and love rules over all. And - just as the author liked it - the frolic of clowns and comedy includes provocative insight into nature versus society and into humanity itself. Follow Orlando, Celia, Rosalind, and Touchstone the Clown from court to forest in this play that features disguised princesses, an unjustly deposed ruler, and a handsome leading couple. Actors Vanessa Redgrave (Rosalind) and Keith Michell (Orlando) head the cast of celebrity performers in this Shakespearean romp of mischief, intrigue, and surprise.

Henry V: Arkangel Shakespeare

• ORIGINAL (3 hrs and 10 mins)
• By William Shakespeare
• Narrated By Jamie Glover, Brian Cox, Elizabeth Spriggs

Henry V is a study of kingship, patriotism, and heroic determination tempered by tender comedy as Henry courts Katherine, princess of France. Henry, the noble and courageous young king of England, decides to invade France, believing he has a rightful claim to the throne. At Agincourt he leads his army into battle against the powerful French forces and, against all the odds, wins a famous victory.

Othello

• UNABRIDGED (1 hr and 54 mins)
• By William Shakespeare
• Narrated By uncredited

The plot revolves around four characters: Othello, a Moor and general in the Venetian army; his wife, Desdemona; his lieutenant, Cassio; and his most trusted advisor, Iago. Because of its diverse subjects, namely love, jealousy, racism, and betrayal, Othello remains relevant and valid even today. (A full-cast production.)

A Midsummer Night's Dream

• UNABRIDGED (2 hrs)
• By William Shakespeare
• Narrated By Ian McKellen, Prunella Scales, Frank Duncan, and others

Lovers lives are complicated by city law, feuding faerie royalty, and, yes, love. Sir Ian McKellen, Prunella Scales, Frank Duncan, and Joan Hart perform Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Othello: Director's Playbook Edition - Annotated

• UNABRIDGED (3 hrs and 7 mins)
• By William Shakespeare
• Narrated By David Hopkins

William Shakespeare's classic masterpiece, the tragedy of Othello, Moor of Venice, joined in an interracial marriage to the beautiful Desdemona and driven to suspicion and jealousy by his maleficent officer Iago.

King John

• UNABRIDGED (2 hrs and 38 mins)
• By William Shakespeare
• Narrated By Craig Franklin, Andy Harrington, Alan Weyman, and others

The Life and Death of King John was probably written in the 1590s but not published until the First Folio in 1623. Of Shakespeare's 11 history plays, King John is the one which deals with the story of a monarch most removed from Shakespeare's time. The historical remoteness of this ruler, and also the fact that he had no genealogical links with the Tudor dynasty, enabled Shakespeare to present him in a warts and allà fashion.

Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare

• UNABRIDGED (4 hrs and 26 mins)
• By E. Nesbit
• Narrated By Anne Hancock
• Whispersync for Voice-ready

Famed author E. Nesbit (The Railway Children) brings 20 of Shakespeare's plays to life in language that children can understand. They are entertaining narratives that describe the Bard's main characters and often intricate plots. Each story provides a concise overview for anyone about to experience a Shakespeare play for the first time.

Twelfth Night

• UNABRIDGED (2 hrs and 35 mins)
• By William Shakespeare
• Narrated By Arielle Lipshaw, Elizabeth Klett, Brett Downey, and others

This play, which bears an alternate title of What You Will, was written in about 1602. Twelfth Night has always been one of Shakespeare's most popular comedies, and many adaptations have been made for film and musical theatre.