Twelfth Night, first performed around 1600, probably at the court of Queen Elizabeth I, is the tale of separated brother and sister twins Sebastian and Viola and their love entanglements. It also offers the rich comic colours of Sir Toby Belch, Malvolio and Sir Andrew Aguecheek. Twelfth Night is part of Naxos AudioBooks’ exciting new series of complete dramatisations of the works of Shakespeare, in conjunction with Cambridge University Press. It uses the New Cambridge Shakespeare text, as ...

Time and the Conways follows the fortunes of one family over a period of years, and offers a moving perspective on the abstract nature of the past, present and future. It is 1919, the War is over and the Conway family are celebrating their daughter Kay's 21st birthday. But her sudden premonition of their lives in 1937 casts a shadow over their dreams and expectations. This BBC Radio production features a distinguished cast including Marcia Warren, Stella Gonet, Belinda Sinclair, A...

In this BBC full-cast production, Julius Caesar is triumphant after his victory over the sons of Pompey. But as bad omens and weather plague Rome, even his most loyal friends are starting to see the signs...Political intrigue and fierce battle rage in this tense and dynamic production in which a country is torn apart under the legacy of Julius Caesar, 'the colossus'.Gerard Murphy, Stella Gonet, Samantha Bond and Nic...

Macbeth, Shakespeare’s last great tragedy, has remained one of the most popular plays since it’s first performance in 1606 probably in front of King James. This exciting new audiobook production is directed with fresh imagination by Fiona Shaw who breaks the conventional strait jacket that has hampered the development of Shakespeare on audio. We are as much in the twenty-first century as in medieval Scotland the tensions, the politics, the struggle for power and dark ambition is part of ou...

Kenneth Branagh heads an outstanding cast in playing one of Shakespeare’s strongest characters. The eighth production in the widely admired series of Shakespeare plays presented by Naxos AudioBooks in association with Cambridge University Press.

Three full-cast BBC Radio productions of Shakespeare's most famous Roman playsFeaturing all-star casts and introduced by Sir Richard Eyre, these three iconic productions of Shakespeare's dynamic Roman histories are full of political intrigue, passion and tragedy.Julius CaesarThis updated version of Shakespeare's classic play is set in Italy in 1925. Julius Caesar, a new Roman dictator, has swept to power, and his way is clea...

The language of Poetry is an art that most of us attempt at some point in our lives. Although its commonplace exposure has been somewhat marginalised in today’s often fast-paced lives we all recognise good verse that can empathise with our thoughts or open us up to experience new things in new ways, to better understand and to enjoy the many strands of our lives.But finding a starting point can be overwhelming, even off-putting, so in this series we offer up our Top 10 classic poet...

Whether we understand it or recognise it, it is women who have shaped the course and journey of humanity. We are all born from women and usually raised by women. Half the world’s population is female but many of them are trodden down by misogyny, religious misinterpretation, failing systems of education and welfare and all manner of other ills that shame us all. In a world where, gender, colour, race and orientation are still stumbling blocks to inclusion, women’s words are too often unhea...

The collected BBC adaptations of Nicolas Freeling's bestselling thrillers - plus bonus documentaryAcclaimed as 'the most thoroughly European of British crime writers' (The Guardian), Nicolas Freeling was well known for his novels featuring Dutch sleuth Van der Valk and French policeman Henri Castang. Included in this collection are six stories showcasing both detectives, as well as a bonus programme exploring Van der Valk and his creator.

Dramatisations and readings of selected works by DH Lawrence – plus a radio play by Dan Allum and two bonus documentaries exploring Lawrence’s life and writingsCrowned ‘the greatest imaginative novelist of our generation’ by EM Forster, DH Lawrence has an undisputed place in England's canon of great authors. In this wide-ranging collection, dramatisations and readings of some of his major works are brought together, exploring themes such as romantic love and sexual...

Novelists stake their claim as artists on works that encapsulate a whole world of characters and narrative across many, usually hundreds of pages. Some also take in other disciplines; plays, short stories, essays but many have also written poetry. For some it is even their first love but for their audience it is too often forgotten; relegated behind their longer works. Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, The Brontes, George Eliot, Thomas Hardy are but a few of our illustrious authors who here re...

‘A dime a dozen’ as known in America, is perhaps equal to the English ‘cheap as chips’ but whatever the lingua franca of your choice in this series we hereby submit ‘A Rhyme a Dozen’ as 12 poems on many given subjects that are a well-rounded gathering, maybe even an essential guide, from the knowing pens of classic poets and their beautifully spoken verse to the comfort of your ears.1 - A Rhyme a Dozen - 12 Poets, 12 Poems, 1 Topic. Love - An Introduction2 - Sonnet 116 by W...