Shakespeares English

Brother and sister team Charles and Mary Lamb originally wrote these stories for children in 1807, based on Shakespeare's most famous plays. Here is their version of Romeo and Juliet.

Our satire begins with one sock in particular, Romeo. He's staying clean but living dirty. We open as he cries to himself in the mirror. He's caught between being honest and saving face.

Dive into the stormy world of "King Lear," a brilliant adaptation of Shakespeare's tragic tale, transformed into an accessible and engaging narrative for young listeners by Jeanette Vigon. This rendition captures the essence of the original story, focusing on themes of love, betrayal, and redemption, while simplifying its complex language and situations to suit a younger audience.

Embark on a magical journey into "Twelfth Night," a place where the serene coastlines of Illyria become the backdrop for a whimsical tale of love, disguise, and festive revelry. This isn't just another comedy; it's an intricate dance of affection, identity, and the pursuit of true happiness, masterfully adapted for young listeners.

Step into the heart of Venice and the windswept shores of Cyprus with "Othello," a captivating adaptation of Shakespeare's timeless tale of love, jealousy, and betrayal, thoughtfully reimagined for children by Jeanette Vigon. This version preserves the core of Shakespeare's story while transforming it into an accessible narrative that young listeners will find both engaging and educational.

Questions of what happens after death were vital in Shakespeare's time, as it is today. And, like today, the answers were by no means universally agreed upon. Exploring how particular texts and characters answer these questions, Shakespeare and the Afterlife showcases the vitality and originality of the author's language and thinking. We encounter characters with very personal visions of what awaits them after death, and these visions reveal new insights into these individuals' motivations and concerns as they navigate the world of the living.

Shakespeare’s history plays fall into two categories: political dramas and propagandistic pageants. The second category is comprised of the two plays in this presentation, Henry V and Henry VIII.

Following Adrenaline, The Last Minute, and Downfall, Jeff Abbott returns with the next riveting novel in the award-winning New York Times bestselling Sam Capra series. Sam Capra's friend Steve has been murdered, shot dead in the rain outside of his Miami bar. The only lead: a mysterious...

As You Like It follows its heroine, Rosalind, as she flees persecution in her uncle's court, accompanied by her cousin Celia to find safety and, eventually, love in the Forest of Arden. This edition is an adaptation of Shakespeare's eponymous comedy, narrated in plain modern English, capturing the very essence and key elements of the original Shakespeare's drama. Read in English, unabridged.

Shakespeare writes about the plight of Romeo and Juliet with a lot of empathy and views their tragedy as a result of bad fate, rather than a problem with their characters. We sense from the very start that their relationship is doomed. Romeo and Juliet are portrayed as sincere and virtuous young people who are madly in love, but because of the feud between their families, their relationship has to end. As they won't even consider a separation, the only way out of the situation they find themselves in is by taking their own lives.

After the death from cancer of his husband, Antony Sher, Greg Doran stepped down from his role as artistic director of the Royal Shakespeare Company. In the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's First Folio, and inspired by the surprising history of the company's own copy, he set out to see how many of these important volumes he could find. The journey took him to Japan, where Doran met the emperor, and to New Zealand and South Africa where the legacy of Shakespeare has become entwined with the story of colonialism.

This collection includes theatrical audio versions major plays that are not typically considered part of the Shakespeare cannon, but are plays in which Shakespeare may made material contributions. These are the plays Sir Thomas More, The Spanish Tragedy, and Thomas of Woodstock. Additional expert commentary from Hazel Jeffs provides insight into the potential authorship and major themes of each of these three classic plays of the Elizabethan period.

Many masters employed the form of the sonnet, including Petrarch, Spenser, Shakespeare, Keats, and Robert Bridges. However, the most celebrated, and oft quoted, examples are to be found in the collection by Shakespeare, first published in 1609. In the 154 poems, Shakespeare surveys and dissects the subject of love in all its guises, and its relationship with youth, age, illness, death, and memory.

In 1592, Elizabethan England is a perilous place, rife with plague, civil unrest, highwaymen, violent animal sports, and Spanish plots against the queen. Hamnet Shakespeare, young son of renowned playwright William, buys an abandoned bear cub in the market. Hamnet names him Mummer, a traveling actor who mimes. Boy and Bear learn showmanship!

"All the World’s a Stage" is a sobering monologue from Shakespeare’s comedic piece: As You Like It first published in 1623. This avant-garde, spoken word tour de force, is pontificated by the sombre Jacques in Act II, Scene VII. The content of his speech is not only a powerful instance of art imitating life, but also life imitating art, specifically a stage and the changeable drama which ensues. A thought-provoking masterpiece!

Sonnet 20 is one of the best-known of 154 sonnets written by William Shakespeare. Part of the "Fair Youth" sequence where the subject of the sonnet is widely interpreted as being male, thereby raising questions about the sexuality of its author.

Award-winning narrator Mike Vendetti recites Shakespeare's "Sonnet 6".

Award-winning narrator Mike Vendetti recites Shakespeare's "Sonnet 8".

Award-winning narrator Mike Vendetti recites William Shakespeare's Sonnet 38.

Award winning narrator Mike Vendetti recites Shakespeare's Sonnet 19, where the poet expresses his fear of the ravages of time upon his lover.