AuthorWilliam Shakespeare
NarratorVarious
Duration2h 1m
CategoriesAdult Fiction, Plays and Dramatisations
Key StageKS4
PublisherBBC
VersionAbridged
In this BBC full-cast production of The Merchant of Venice, love, bigotry, greed, and justice are entwined.
Shakespeare's classic play explores the eternal themes of love and hate, mercy and justice, with parallel stories centred on the moneylender, Shylock, and the lovers, Portia and Bassanio. Shylock's angry insistence on the repayment of his debt from Bassanio ends in the Venetian courts, where he demands his pound of flesh. Portia meanwhile, a wealthy young Venetian woman, must marry one of her many suitors. Her late father's will has set the challenge by means of three caskets: one gold, one silver and one lead.
Warren Mitchell stars as Shylock, with Martin Jarvis as Antonio, Samuel West as Bassanio and Juliet Aubrey as Portia.
This superb production of Shakespeare's dramatic and complex play is directed by the award-winning Peter Kavanagh, and features specially-composed music by the renowned Barrington Pheloung.
Author: William Shakespeare
Author William Shakespeare
Narrator
Duration 3h
Othello is a 'noble Moor', a North African Muslim who has converted to Christianity and is deemed one of the Venetian state's most reliable soldiers. However, his ensign Iago harbours an obscure hatred against his general, and when Othello secretly marries the beautiful daughter of the Venetian senator Brabanzio, Iago begins his subtle campaign of...
View Book
Author: William Shakespeare
Author William Shakespeare
Narrator
Duration 3h 22m
The death of King Hamlet has resulted in his brother Claudius becoming the new king of Denmark. Alarmed by his father's death and his mother's hasty marriage to the new king, Prince Hamlet seeks to discover the truth about his father's death.
View Book
Author: William Shakespeare
Author William Shakespeare
Narrator Full Cast
Duration 2h 50m
As Romeo and Juliet come from opposing families, their love must be concealed until after their marriage. But having slain Juliet's cousin Tybalt, Romeo is banished and despite the well-meaning intervention of Friar Laurence, fate ensures that the marriage is never truly celebrated. Dramatisation of the New Cambridge version of the text.
View Book
Author: William Shakespeare
Author William Shakespeare
Narrator
Duration 2h 19m
This comedy takes place largely in a wood where Hermia and her lover Lysander have escaped to marry. They are now in a domain of the fairies where strange and wonderful transformations are magically brought about by the spells of Oberon and his mischievous servant, Puck.
View Book
Author: William Shakespeare
Author William Shakespeare
Narrator Various
Duration 2h 20m
The brave warrior Macbeth allows himself to be persuaded by his wife, Lady Macbeth, to slay good King Duncan and seize the throne of Scotland for himself. Macbeth achieves his ambition, but one murder proves not to be enough. Sinister supernatural forces are at work in this tragedy of guilt and retribution.
View Book
Author: William Shakespeare
Author William Shakespeare
Narrator Various
Duration 2h 1m
Foretold he will become King of Scotland and spurred on by his wife, Macbeth commits deadly treason to seize the throne. Once crowned, guilt and mistrust of all around him leads Macbeth to embark on a trail of bloodshed and murder to stay in power. But under the yoke of his brutal reign, civil war breaks out and a rebellious army gathers to overthr...
View Book
Author: William Shakespeare
Author William Shakespeare
Narrator
Duration 3h 20m
'Now is the winter of our discontent', intones Richard, Duke of Gloucester at the beginning of Shakespeare's Richard III, one of his most abidingly popular plays, and one of the most chilling portrayals of political tyranny ever seen on stage. The series of murders and conspiracies that Richard masterminds confirms his claim that 'I am determined...
View Book
Author: William Shakespeare
Author William Shakespeare
Narrator
Duration 2h 15m
Viola and her twin brother Sebastian are separated in a storm that washes them both up at different points on the shores of Illyria. Believing each other to be dead, both attempt to survive by using their wits. One of Shakespeare's most complex and inventive comedies.
View Book
Macbeth - Smartpass Study Guide
Author: William Shakespeare, Simon Potter
Author William Shakespeare, Simon Potter
Narrator Various
Duration 4h 20m
This guide takes the listener through the plot of Macbeth and gets to grips with the language, imagery, themes and social and historical settings. The play is presented as a full cast drama with simultaneous guided interpretation and analysis.
View Book
Author: William Shakespeare
Author William Shakespeare
Narrator
Duration 2h 7m
Prospero, wise duke of Milan, has been deposed by Antonio, his wicked brother, and exiled with his daughter Miranda to a mysterious island. But Prospero possesses supernatural powers. Aided by the spirit Ariel, Prospero uses his magical art to bring his enemies under control again.
View Book
