Shakespeare Audiobooks | Drama

Shakespeare’s Greatest Comedies: A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Merchant of Venice, Much Ado About N

Laughter, happiness, romance, and just a bit of deception and intrigue – these are what make up Shakespeare’s most beloved comedies. Though Shakespeare is probably most well known for the dramatic tragedies that have defined the genre for centuries, his comedies are just as well beloved and performed in theaters across the globe. Shakespearean comedies are defined by their humorous writing, their satire, the often-tangled romances, disguises and deceptions, and a thoughtful “fool” who is often the bearer of the smartest lines in the plays. Most of the time, there is also at least one (or two, or three, or four) weddings that tie the entire plot together in a neat package just in the nick of time. These conventions are iconic in the genre, and are what gave Shakespeare’s comedies their place in the literary canon. This collection of the best of Shakespeare’s comedies includes: - A Midsummer’s Night’s Dream - The Merchant of Venice - Much Ado About Nothing - As You Like It - Twelfth Night - The Tempest

William Shakespeare (Author), Edward James Beesley, Erin Bateman, Rafe Beckley, Randal Schaffer (Narrator)

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Shakespeare's Greatest Monologues: Volume II

William Shakespeare, long hailed as history's greatest dramatic writer, has been lauded for his mastery of poetic expression, his insight into the human condition and his deep exploration into the psyche and motivations of his characters. These skills are perhaps best encapsulated in the monologues he gives his various protagonists, villains and bit players. From the ambitious Scottish general Macbeth contemplating the assassination of his sovereign king to the saintly Joan of Arc from 'Henry VI' inspiring soldiers to follow her into battle, to Richard III's evil and traitorous plotting, to the mischievous sprite Puck from 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' celebrating his bewitching of the Fairy Queen, Shakespeare's monologues are short distillations of his larger themes - love and loss, fairness and inequity, power and envy, lust and purity. Fort Raphael Publishing is proud to present, in this first volume, some of Shakespeare's greatest monologues, each of which captures a shining, brilliant moment from his plays that gives us a deeper understanding of each character, whether flattering, damning or inspiring.Enjoy this collection of monologues from the greatest theatrical writer in the English language - William Shakespeare.

William Shakespeare (Author), Angela Iannone, Austyn Williamson And John Lister, Barbara Zahora, Christopher Prentice, David Blixt, Elizabeth Laidlaw, Erin Philpott, Karen Woditsch, Laura Spaeth, Mark Richard, Mickey Theis, Rob Mclean, Ronald Keaton, Tom Mula (Narrator)

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All the Sonnets of Shakespeare

How can we look afresh at Shakespeare as a writer of sonnets? What new light might they shed on his career, personality, and sexuality? Shakespeare wrote sonnets for at least thirty years, not only for himself, for professional reasons, and for those he loved, but also in his plays, as prologues, as epilogues, and as part of their poetic texture. This ground-breaking book assembles all of Shakespeare's sonnets in their probable order of composition. An inspiring introduction debunks long-established biographical myths about Shakespeare's sonnets and proposes new insights about how and why he wrote them. This volume will be treasured by students, scholars, and every Shakespeare enthusiast.

Paul Edmondson, Stanley Wells, William Shakespeare (Author), Kenneth Branagh, Lolita Chakrabarti (Narrator)

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Shakespeare's Greatest Monologues: Volume I

William Shakespeare, long hailed as the history's greatest dramatic writer, has been lauded for his mastery of poetic expression, his insight into the human condition and his deep exploration into the psyche and motivations of his characters. These skills are perhaps best encapsulated in the monologues he gives his various protagonists, villains and bit players. From the murderous Lady Macbeth, planning to assassinate the king to advance her husband's career, to the droll, melancholy Jacques from 'As You Like It' ticking off the Seven Ages of Man, to Edmund the Bastard in 'King Lear,' bemoaning his second class status as an illegitimate child to the young lover Helena, railing against the seeming cruelty of her bewitched friends in 'A Midsummer Night's Dream,' Shakespeare's monologues are short distillations of his larger themes - love and loss, fairness and inequity, power and envy, lust and purity. Fort Raphael Publishing is proud to present, in this first volume, some of Shakespeare's greatest monologues, each of which captures a shining, brilliant moment from his plays that gives us a deeper understanding of each character, whether flattering, damning or inspiring. Enjoy this collection of monologues - performed by some of the finest classical actors in the world - from the greatest theatrical writer in the English language, William Shakespeare.

William Shakespeare (Author), Amir Abdullah, Belinda Bremner And Ben Werling, Bob Theis, Debo Balogun, Glynis Gilio, Jan Blixt, Jean Marie Koon, Jean Moran, Katie Lynn, Kevin Theis, Paul Stroili, Rebekah Ward, Sara Nichols, Stephen Spencer (Narrator)

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Women of Will

"Dazzling and illuminating"-- Boston Globe "Brilliant! Fearlessly impassioned acting that you'll remember for as long as you live."-- Wall Street Journal A tour de force, in-studio performance for Shakespeare lovers, scholars, artists and anyone who thinks the lady doth protest too much! Join Master Shakespearean actor, Tina Packer as she deconstructs and conjures Shakespeare's most famous female characters. She is joined by multi-award-winning actor Nigel Gore who plays Romeo to Packer's Juliet and Petruchio to her Kate. Together they bring listeners on a unique journey for the ears as they explore love, loss and power through Shakespeare's heroines, combining the most beloved Shakespeare scenes with fascinating analysis. "The play explores Shakespeare's own enlightenment as he delves into the female psyche, and realizes if we don't deeply listen to what the women say, we are never going to solve the problems of the world!" Tina Packer Through this unique performance, listeners will discover the mastery of Tina Packer (founder of the world-renowned Shakespeare & Company) hailed "marvelous!" by The New York Times and "irresistible" by the Associated Press. And the steady brilliance of Nigel Gore (narrator of The Time Machine by H. G. Wells, also from Alison Larkin Presents.)

Nigel Gore, Tina Packer (Author), Nigel Gore, Tina Packer (Narrator)

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The Taming of the Shrew

“For I am born to tame you, Kate,And bring you from a wild Kate to a KateComfortable as other household Kates.” Baptista Minola has two daughters: Katherina and Bianca. Bianca is the “ideal wife” – beautiful, kind, submissive, and eager to wed. She has many suitors asking for her hand in marriage. The only thing standing in her way is her father’s promise not to let her marry before Katherina – and Katherina wants to anything but become a bride. Katherina is assertive and domineering, and unwilling to change her personality to attract a husband. When a man named Petruchio comes to town, Katherina finally feels she has found someone she can live with – he is quick-witted like her, and doesn’t seem to take offense to her brash communication. However, as soon as they are married, Petruchio begins “taming” her by gaslighting her and undermining her at every turn and denying her necessities like food, sleep, and clothing. This plot runs in sharp contrast to Bianca’s, who is able to woo an array of suitors after her sister is finally wed. Many men are running around and trying their best to deceive and bribe their way into Bianca’s heart, when she only has eyes for one called Lucentio. Between the comedy of a gaggle of men running around wildly to attempt to wed Bianca and the over-the-top portrayal of Katherina’s “taming,” The Taming of the Shrew is a humorous play that offers a fascinating look at the 16th century’s views on women, marriage, and domesticity.

William Shakespeare (Author), Rafe Beckley (Narrator)

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Twelfth Night

“If music be the food of love, play on,Give me excess of it; that surfeiting,The appetite may sicken, and so die.' After a shipwreck separates Viola from her twin brother in a strange town, she decides the best course of action is to disguise herself as a man, so that she can become a servant to a Duke named Orsino. This small deception quickly spirals out of control, as she mistakenly ends up in the middle of a love triangle with her Orsino and the object of his affection, Olivia. Confusion and hilarity ensue as Viola evades Olivia’s growing affections, while also trying to win over Orsino while still being disguised as Cesario. The situation grows even more complicated when Viola’s twin shows up and gets mixed into the chaos, and as a man named Malvolio attempts to enter himself into the complicated romance by vying for Olivia’s affections. Twelfth Night is one of Shakespeare’s most amusing works, from the witty dialogue to the amusing scenes that play on themes of gender, class, and honesty. The complex love triangle has served as the inspiration for many comedic books and films over the centuries, and remains amusing to a modern audience.

William Shakespeare (Author), Rafe Beckley (Narrator)

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Macbeth

“Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player,That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,And then is heard no more. It is a taleTold by an idiot, full of sound and fury,Signifying nothing.” If you had the chance to seize great power for yourself and your family, what lengths would you go to to claim it as your own – and how would you live with yourself if you went against morality to do it? This is the question of Macbeth, a tragedy about seeking political gain above all else, and the consequences sacrificing one’s humanity for the sake of power. Macbeth is a general for Scotland who has been prophesied to be the future King of Scotland. Rather than wait for this prophecy to take hold of its own accord, and after taking the advice of his power-hungry wife, he murders the current king and takes his place. But it doesn’t take long for tremendous guilt and fear to take hold of him, and turn his reign into one of tyranny and brutality as he and Lady Macbeth commit more and more crimes to avoid the consequences coming for them. As Macbeth’s streak of brutality and war continues, he believes himself to be invulnerable, which ultimately leads to his downfall. Macbeth is one of Shakespeare’s well-known tragedies, and despite superstitions about it being “cursed,” is still often performed and presented for audiences in the modern era.

William Shakespeare (Author), Rafe Beckley (Narrator)

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A Midsummer Night's Dream

A Midsummer Night's Dream is a comedy written by William Shakespeare. It portrays the events surrounding the marriage of Theseus, the Duke of Athens, to Hippolyta, the former queen of the Amazons. These include the adventures of four young Athenian lovers and a group of six amateur actors (the mechanicals) who are controlled and manipulated by the fairies who inhabit the forest in which most of the play is set. The play is one of Shakespeare's most popular works for the stage and is widely performed across the world. The play consists of four interconnecting plots, connected by a celebration of the wedding of Duke Theseus of Athens and the Amazon queen, Hippolyta, which is set simultaneously in the woodland and in the realm of Fairyland, under the light of the moon. As part of our mission to publish great works of literary fiction and nonfiction, Sheba Blake Publishing Corp. is extremely dedicated to bringing to the forefront the amazing works of long dead and truly talented authors.

William Shakespeare (Author), Ernst Pattynama (Narrator)

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All’s Well That Ends Well

All's Well That Ends Well is a classic comedy by William Shakespeare. Although originally classified as one of Shakespeare's comedies, All's Well That Ends Well is now more commonly classified as one of his ambiguous problem plays, so called because they defy neat classification as either comedy or tragedy. Helena, a servant harbors a secret love for Betram her mistresses' son. When the king becomes ill Helena promises to heal him if she is allowed to marry any man of her choosing. Helena's father is a renowned physician and the young girl having inherited his knowledge saves the king and Bertram is chosen as her husband. The one sided affair soon blossoms into requited love and all's well that ends well. As part of our mission to publish great works of literary fiction and nonfiction, Sheba Blake Publishing Corp. is extremely dedicated to bringing to the forefront the amazing works of long dead and truly talented authors.

William Shakespeare (Author), Tony Addison (Narrator)

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The Tragedy of Macbeth

William Shakespeare's shortest—but one of his most popular—tragedies features a man who will do anything to fulfill a prophecy that will lead him to become the King of Scotland. Fresh from battle, Macbeth and his companion Banquo come across three witches who tell of great power that is in store for Macbeth. Driven by their prophecy and aided by his wife, Macbeth sets out on a journey that is wrought with deceit, murder, and suffering to acquire the throne of Scotland. At each and every turn, Macbeth must make choices that alter the trajectory of not only his life but every life around him, as he begins to fall mad with greed. This multi-voice production of The Tragedy of Macbeth features an all-star cast under the direction of acclaimed producer Paul Alan Ruben, a Grammy Award-winning veteran of the audiobook industry. With five AudioFile magazine Golden Voice recipients, multiple Grammy and SOVAS nominations, and countless Earphones and Audie Awards, this phenomenal cast brings Shakespeare's work to life.

William Shakespeare (Author), Carol Monda, Dion Graham, J. D. Jackson, Jd Jackson, Johnny Heller, Käthe Mazur, Maggie-Meg Reed, Paula Parker, Scott Brick, Simon Vance, Steven Anthony Jones (Narrator)

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The Merchant of Venice

“How far that little candle throws his beams! So shines a good deed in a weary world.” Bassanio is a man in love, but he does not have much money to his name, and thus is unable to woo the rich heiress Portia. His friend Antonio suggests that they borrow money from Shylock, a Jewish moneylender who has had many dealings with Antonio in the past. Shylock, being of Antonio’s ability to repay, agrees to grant the loan with a difficult condition. If the loan is not repaid in full by the agreed date, Shylock will take a pound of Antonio’s flesh. The loan is not paid in time, and what follows is a dramatic courtroom scene in which Shylock’s demands are met with legal intricacies that turn the tables on him. The lengthy legal discussion ends up with lives and fortunes on the line, and through the opposition’s knowledge of in-depth legal rules and policies, the result of the trial is not what anyone expects. Depending on the critical lens with which this text is approached, Shylock or Antonio can each be portrayed as the villain or hero from a certain point of view. The Merchant of Venice is often read and analyzed for its portrayal of Judaism and antisemitism, its spin on the common courtroom drama, and for Shakespeare’s signature witty writing and observations about humanity. It is a play that, like many of Shakespeare’s works, can be read and interpreted in many ways, and leaves the final judgments of the characters to the audience to decide.

William Shakespeare (Author), Randal Schaffer (Narrator)

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Shakespeare Audiobooks in Drama