Shakespeare's Dramas

[Riklaa]

William Shakespeare (baptised 26 April 1564 – died 23 April 1616)[a] was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's preeminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon". His surviving works, including some collaborations, consist of 38 plays,[c] 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and several other poems. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright. Shakespeare was born and raised in Stratford-upon-Avon. At the age of 18, he married Anne Hathaway, who bore him three children: Susanna, and twins Hamnet and Judith. Between 1585 and 1592, he began a successful career in London as an actor, writer, and part owner of a playing company called the Lord Chamberlain's Men, later known as the King's Men. He appears to have retired to Stratford around 1613, where he died three years later. Few records of Shakespeare's private life survive, and there has been considerable speculation about such matters as his physical appearance, sexuality, religious beliefs, and whether the works attributed to him were written by others. Shakespeare produced most of his known work between 1589 and 1613. His early plays were mainly comedies and histories, genres he raised to the peak of sophistication and artistry by the end of the sixteenth century. He then wrote mainly tragedies until about 1608, including Hamlet, King Lear, and Macbeth, considered some of the finest works in the English language. In his last phase, he wrote tragicomedies, also known as romances, and collaborated with other playwrights. Many of his plays were published in editions of varying quality and accuracy during his lifetime. In 1623, two of his former theatrical colleagues published the First Folio, a collected edition of his dramatic works that included all but two of the plays now recognised as Shakespeare's. Shakespeare was a respected poet and playwright in his own day, but his reputation did not rise to its present heights until the nineteenth century. The Romantics, in particular, acclaimed Shakespeare's genius, and the Victorians worshipped Shakespeare with a reverence that George Bernard Shaw called "bardolatry". In the twentieth century, his work was repeatedly adopted and rediscovered by new movements in scholarship and performance. His plays remain highly popular today and are constantly studied, performed and reinterpreted in diverse cultural and political contexts throughout the world. This Shakespeare folder contains those works by Shakespeare, anonymous Works attributed to Shakespeare and works derived from portions of Shakespearian works. All were equally enjoyed by me.

[Riklaa]

The Taming of the Shrew
by William Shakespeare

Part 2 of 2

The Taming of the Shrew [BBC 1988]-02.mp3

[Riklaa]

The Taming of the Shrew
by William Shakespeare

This hearty comedy has always been a favourite with audiences. Three suitors pursue Bianca Minola, but her father won't let her marry until her older sister, Katherine, is married. Kate is wilful, loud, volatile and above all, shrewish. Her suitor Petruchio is stern, jolly, and somewhat odd. A match made in heaven?

The play has an all-star cast including Bob Peck, Cheryl Campbell, Moira Leslie, Robert Glenister, Stephen Tompkinson, Douglas Hodge, Christopher Fairbank, Michael Deacon, Anthony Jackson, Willam Simons, John Badley, and Paul Copley

Music composed by Mia Soteriou

Directed and adapted for radio by Jeremy Mortimer

This production was first broadcast on Radio 3 in 1988
Repeated on BBC 7: Saturday 26 Nov 2005

Type: mpeg 1 layer III
Bitrate: 192 kbps
Mode: stereo
Frequency: 44.100 kHz
Length: 1 hr, 59 mins

Part 1 of 2

The Taming of the Shrew [BBC 1988]-01.mp3

[Riklaa]

Hamlet by William Shakespeare
John Gielgud's Classic 1948 Recording

Published by: Naxos Audiobooks
Read by: Full Cast production and featuring John Gielgud
Unabridged
Duration: 3 hours, 26 minutes
Bitrate: 64 kbps
Genre: fiction, drama, theatre

This outstanding historical recording made in 1941 for radio is widely regarded as one of the finest Hamlet performances ever, and one of John Gielgud’s greatest moments. Though he went on to record it for commercial release, nothing matched this recording in the BBC studios, made before the days of editing.

Hamlet-Part01.mp3

Hamlet-Part02.mp3

Hamlet-Part03.mp3

[Lefevre of Montpellier]

Thank you for these Gielgud productions, he was special doing Shakespeare.

[Riklaa]

I had to cut Taming of The Shrew in half, I couldn't bear to lower the bitrate. If you need a program to put them back together I will post it for you. ------------------------------------------------------------------ Rick

[Riklaa]

The Winters Tale (BBC 1982) by William Shakespeare

Part 3 of 3

The Winters Tale (BBC 1982)-03.mp3

[Riklaa]

The Winters Tale (BBC 1982) by William Shakespeare

Part 2 of 3

The Winters Tale (BBC 1982)-02.mp3

[Riklaa]

The Winters Tale (BBC 1982) by William Shakespeare, 21 Jan 1982 at 19:30 (Channel: BBC Radio 3)

Full-length radio adaptation of the play produced in stereo by Martin Jenkins. With Ronald Pickup as Leontes and Hannah Gordon as Hermione, John Gielgud is Time. Music composed by David Timson and sung by Alan Dudley, Theresa Streatfeild, Patience Tomlinson and the composer.

Cast

Ronald Pickup ... Leontes, King of Sicily
Hannah Gordon ... Hermione
Angela Pleasence ... Perdita
Barbara Jefford ... Paulina
Derek Smith ... Autolycus
Alan Dudley ... Paulina's steward
Christopher Guard ... Florizel
Cyril Luckham ... Old Shepherd
David Timson ... Young Shepherd (Clown)
Gary Bond ... Polixenes
George Parsons ... Jailer
George Parsons ... Rogero
Hugh Dickson ... Gentleman
Jill Lidstone ... Lady
John Gielgud ... Time, as Chorus
John Livesey ... Dion, Court Officer
Michael Gough ... Antigonus
Michael Spice ... Camillo
Michael Tudor Barnes ... Cleomenes, Archidamus
Patience Tomlinson ... Dorcas, Mamillius
Pauline Letts ... Emilia
Spencer Banks ... Doctor, Servant
Stella Forge ... Shepherdess
Stephen Thorne ... Mariner, Lord
Steve Hodson ... Shepherd's servant, Lord
Theresa Streatfeild ... Mopsa

Original play was 235 megs-Split into 3 parts Combining program included in post
Part 1 of 3

The Winters Tale (BBC 1982)-01.mp3

mp3merge.rar

[Riklaa]

Coriolanus by William Shakespeare, BBC Radio 3, September 1979.
Part 2 of 2

* if you wish to recombine the 2 split parts use combining program included with Henry V post.

William Shakespeare, Coriolanus (BBC 1979)-02.mp3

[Riklaa]

Coriolanus by William Shakespeare, BBC Radio 3, September 1979.

The play opens in Rome shortly after the expulsion of the Tarquin kings. There are riots in progress, after stores of grain were withheld from ordinary citizens. The rioters are particularly angry at Caius Martius,[1] a brilliant Roman general whom they blame for the grain's being taken away. The rioters encounter a patrician named Menenius Agrippa, as well as Caius Martius himself. Menenius tries to calm the rioters, while Martius is openly contemptuous, and says that the plebeians were not worthy of the grain because of their lack of military service. Two of the tribunes of Rome, Brutus and Sicinius, privately denounce Martius. He leaves Rome after news arrives that a Volscian army is in the field.

The commander of the Volscian army, Tullus Aufidius, has fought Martius on several occasions and considers him a blood enemy. The Roman army is commanded by Cominius, with Martius as his deputy. While Cominius takes his soldiers to meet Aufidius' army, Martius leads a sally against the Volscian city of Corioles. The siege of Corioles is initially unsuccessful, but Martius is able to force open the gates of the city, and the Romans conquer it. Even though he is exhausted from the fighting, Martius marches quickly to join Cominius and fight the other Volscian force. Marcius and Aufidius meet in single combat, which only ends when Aufidius' own soldiers drag him away from the battle.

In recognition of his great courage, Cominius gives Caius Martius the cognomen of "Coriolanus". When they return to Rome, Coriolanus' mother Volumnia encourages her son to run for consul. Coriolanus is hesitant to do this, but he bows to his mother's wishes. He effortlessly wins the support of the Roman Senate, and seems at first to have won over the commoners as well. However, Brutus and Sicinius scheme to undo Coriolanus and whip up another riot in opposition to his becoming consul. Faced with this opposition, Coriolanus flies into a rage and rails against the concept of popular rule. He compares allowing plebeians to have power over the patricians to allowing "crows to peck the eagles". The two tribunes condemn Coriolanus as a traitor for his words, and order him to be banished.

After being exiled from Rome, Coriolanus seeks out Aufidius in the Volscian capital, and tells them that he will lead their army to victory against Rome. Aufidius and his superiors embrace Coriolanus, and allow him to lead a new assault on the city.

Rome, in its panic, tries desperately to persuade Coriolanus to halt his crusade for vengeance, but both Cominius and Menenius fail. Finally, Volumnia is sent to meet with her son, along with Coriolanus' wife and child, and another lady. Volumnia succeeds in dissuading her son from destroying Rome, and Coriolanus instead concludes a peace treaty between the Volscians and the Romans. When Coriolanus returns to the Volscian capital, conspirators, organised by Aufidius, kill him for his betrayal.


Richard Pasco ... Caius Martius Coriolanus
Fabia Drake ... Volumnia
Tim Pigott-Smith ... Tullus Aufidius
Cyril Luckham ... Menenius Agrippa
Jack May ... Cominius
Adrian Egan ... Citizen of Antium
Andrew Branch ... Citizen of Antium
Brian Haines ... Titus Lartius
Brian Sanders ... First Senator (Rome)
Danny Schiller ... Citizen of Antium
Derek Godfrey ... Sicinius Velutus
Eric Allan ... Citizen (Rome)
Fred Bryant ... Citizen (Rome)
Gordon Dulieu ... Citizen of Antium
Harold Kasket ... Citizen (Volscian)
Hilda Kriseman ... Citizen (Rome)
Joe Dunlop ... Citizen of Antium
John Bull ... Citizen (Rome)
John Gabriel ... Senator (Volscian)
Leonard Fenton ... Citizen of Antium
Michael McStay ... Citizen (Rome)
Michael Spice ... Junius Brutus
Petra Davies ... Valeria
Philip Sully ... Citizen of Antium
Phillip Voss ... Second Senator (Rome)
Roger Hammond ... Citizen (Rome)
Rosalind Shanks ... Virgilia
Tammy Ustinov ... Citizen (Rome)

Dir. Ian Cotterell
Music by Michael Steer

Part 1of 2

William Shakespeare, Coriolanus (BBC 1979)-01.mp3