Lust poses as love and ambition as patriotism in this dark and brilliant play depicting the heroic action of the Trojan War.Troy is besieged by the invading Greeks, but the young Trojan prince Troilus can think only of his love for Cressida. Her uncle Pandarus brings the two together, but after only one night news comes that Cressida must be sent to the enemy camp. There, as Troilus looks on, she yields to the wooing of the Greek Diomedes. The tragic story is undercut by the commen...

It is said that Queen Elizabeth gave Shakespeare two weeks to write this play that showcases her favorite comedic character, Sir John Falstaff.The dissolute Falstaff plans to seduce Mistress Ford and Mistress Page, two "Merry Wives of Windsor," thereby gaining access to their husbands' wealth. The two women have the old rogue's measure, however, and Falstaff's plots lead only to his own humiliation. But the merry wives themselves fall prey to plotting as their plans to prevent Mist...

Rome is a city divided, nobility and common people locked in mutual suspicion. The patrician Caius Marcius, later called Coriolanus, is Rome’s greatest soldier, but his proud refusal to accommodate himself to the demands of the plebeians leads to banishment and death.A Roman history as well as tragedy, Coriolanus is a complex and subtle exploration of the themes of absolution and compromise, both in the political world and in the life of the individual.Paul Jesson ...

King John of England is pitted against the united powers of France, Brittany, Austria, and the papacy. Will England be destroyed by his fatal indecision?As alliances are made, broken, and remade, the paranoid and erratic John reveals his weakness and reliance on those around him—including his powerful mother Queen Elinor and Faulconbridge, the cynical and witty bastard son of the dead King Richard I.In this early history play, King John is played by Michael Feast, the Basta...

This strange, dark romance includes two songs composed by Shakespeare that are amongst the most beautiful in the English language.Imogen, the daughter of King Cymbeline, is persecuted by her wicked stepmother, the Queen, and by Cloten, the Queen’s doltish son. Disguised as a boy, she sets out to find her husband, the banished Posthumus. On her journey, she unwittingly meets her two brothers, stolen from the court as infants. Posthumus, meanwhile, has been convinced...

The young and virtuous physician’s daughter Helena desperately loves Count Bertram, but he regards her as beneath his notice.When Helena cures the king of France of a mortal illness, he rewards her with Bertram’s hand, but before their marriage can be consummated, the count flees. To win her husband back again, Helena forms a daring and resourceful plan.A plot to unmask the strutting soldier Parolles makes up another strand in this sometimes disturbing come...

Proteus loves Julia in Verona, Valentine loves Silvia in Milan. But when Proteus meets Silvia, he falls for her too, and the heartbroken Julia sets out in pursuit.This delightful and sometimes disquieting early comedy of love lost and found offers lyrical poetry, disguise, clowning, outlaws, and a most unreliable dog.Proteus is played by Michael Maloney and Valentine by Damian Lewis. Silvia is Saskia Wickham, Julia is Lucy Robinson, and John Woodvine plays Launce.

Pericles, Prince of Tyre, undergoes a tyrant's fury, storm, and shipwreck. He wins love and suffers loss, but what is lost may also be found.With the ancient poet Gower acting as narrator, we follow the adventures of Pericles from young manhood to maturity. This strange and powerful tale of loss and recovery is the first in the group of romance comedies created by Shakespeare at the end of his dramatic career.Sir John Gielgud plays Gower, and Nigel Terry is Pericles. Thaisa...

A play replete with puns and double-entendres, this is one of Shakespeare’s earliest and most lighthearted.The young king of Navarre and three of his courtiers have vowed to lock themselves away for three years of study and fasting, and to forswear the company of women for this period. No sooner is their vow made than it is tested, however, as the princess of France and three of her ladies arrive in Navarre on a diplomatic mission. The young men fall instantly and hopelessly in lov...

Palamon and Arcite, cousins and bosom friends, are taken prisoner by Duke Theseus of Athens. While in captivity, they spy the beautiful Emilia. Both fall instantly in love with her, and their attachment to each other turns to hate.This dark-edged tragicomedy is now widely regarded as having been written by Shakespeare in collaboration with John Fletcher. Composed sometime in 1613–14, The Two Noble Kinsmen is the final play in Shakespeare's dramatic career.Jonathan ...

King Henry is married to Catherine of Aragon, but he has been smitten by the charms of the queen's maid of honor, Anne Boleyn, and is tempted to divorce his dignified and noble wife.Meanwhile, the lords of England resent the influence of Henry's trusted advisor, Cardinal Wolsey, who is gradually drawing power into his own hands. As Catherine and Wolsey suffer their tragic falls, new figures rise to fill their places, but they, too, will be brought low by the inexorable sweep of tim...

Rife with intrigue and treachery, this history play depicts the onset of the fifteenth-century Wars of the Roses between the houses of Lancaster and York.Young King Henry VI has married the beautiful Margaret of Anjou, but the new queen is ruthless and ambitious. Supported by the powerful Duke of Suffolk, Margaret plots the overthrow of her enemies, chief among them the Duke of Gloucester. But the Duke of York also aspires to the crown, and the common people, led by Jack Cade, are ...