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Pietro Antonio Cesti was one of the most outstanding champions of 17th-century Venetian opera, and La Dori was both his greatest success and a major influence on the genre in the expressiveness of its arias and duets. The story is set in Babylon on the shores of the Euphrates, and is a convoluted and richly tragicomedic tale of lost lovers, disguises and mistaken identities filled with larger-than-life and colourfully costumed characters. This revival of a forgotten masterpiece was acclaimed as ‘a production of the highest level in every aspect’ (musicaculturaonline.it).

In June 1995, a virtually unknown group of Japanese musicians embarked on the monumental task of recording the complete sacred cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach. Almost eighteen years later, on 23rd February 2013, the Bach Collegium Japan and Masaaki Suzuki – by then household names in the international music world – reached their goal when they finished recording the 55th release of a series which, in the meantime, had been met with overwhelming acclaim worldwide. Made in conjunction with the final cantata recording, this film commemorates the occasion. Besides performances of the three last cantatas – Gloria in excelsis Deo, BWV191, Lobe den Herrn, meine Seele, BWV69 and Freue dich, erlöste Schar, BWV30 – the film includes interviews with Masaaki Suzuki and key members of Bach Collegium Japan as well as behind the-scenes footage.

REVIEWS:

This disc is essentially Volume 55 of the Bach Sacred Cantata series with an extra chorus and added video. At least two reviews are elsewhere on the Music Web International site. The addition of 25 minutes or so of interviews with the soloists, chorus members, players, engineers and Suzuki himself make this celebratory issue fascinating to watch and hear. A secondary bonus is the presence of subtitles during the four performances, making it far easier to stay with Bach’s religious message. The air of dedication hanging over all the activity is actually quite inspiring, and rightly so, for this series is a landmark in recording history, up there with the Solti Ring. Not only has a complete set of the sacred cantatas been committed to disc but they are in period style, in SACD surround and they are superbly well documented. Reviewing this has cost me money because I realised that I could no longer resist buying the recently released, complete remastered set on BIS SACD9055, not only for the missing few dozen cantatas I gained, but also for the old CD-only issues being newly minted as SACD surround. And, I might add, for the useful indexes to help navigation around the 55 discs!

The performances of the three cantatas on this Blu-ray are of course superb; from the most prominent soloists to the back desk of the violins, all are now seasoned performers, and it shows. Each cantata appears to be a single performance with only the audio and video team and the microphones as audience. The singers move smoothly out of their place in the chorus to the front to sing their solos and then walk back into place. It is all impressively smooth and unfussy. The addition of the great Dona Nobis Pacem chorus from the B minor Mass acts as a wholly appropriate closing tribute. The surround sound, unusually not in DTS Master Audio but LPCM Surround 5.0, is excellent as always. Even those who have purchased the final volume of the series should obtain this too. You might even be tempted to raise a glass to the series as you watch the performers and engineers do just that on your screen.

-- MusicWeb International

When Il trittico premiered at New York's Metropolitan Opera in December 1918, Gianni Schicchi became an immediate hit. The libretto is based on an incident mentioned in Dante's Divine Comedy. The action in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi takes place in Buoso Donati’s bedroom in 13th-century Florence, immediately after his death, as his greedy relatives feign grief and search for his will. The mood shifts to anger when the relatives discover that they have been disinherited. They seek out the clever and resourceful Schicchi to make a counterfeit will. Schicchi, however, turns their scheme against them, bequeathing most of the dead man’s fortune to himself while the relatives, all parties to the crime of forgery, are forced to sit by silently. The aria O mio babbino caro is one of Puccini's most popular arias for soprano. Bruno de Simone plays the character of Gianni Schicchi. As Italy's finest basso buffo, he is perfect for this role. Puccini completed the score on 20 April, 1918, eight months before the scheduled premiere. At that performance it was presented as the third part of a trilogy of newly written one-act operas by Puccini billed as Il trittico (The Triptych); the first two were Il tabarro (The Cloak) and Suor Angelica (Sister Angelica). Il tabarro was a dark tragedy and Suor Angelica a sweet one, so by closing with Gianni Schicchi Puccini rounded off the night with a high-spirited comic farce. Critical reaction at the time judged that Gianni Schicchi was “an uproarious delight”, and it was the most favorably received of the three.

No more Bruckner under Haitink, that's a cut in the history of interpretation (Wiener Zeitung) To end his active conducting career after 65 years, maestro Bernard Haitink together with the Wiener Philharmoniker gives a farewell concert at the Gro�es Festspielhaus at Salzburg Festival, leaving no doubt of being one of the best Bruckner interpreters ever. The Dutch conductor, who was appointed honorary member of the Wiener Philharmoniker shortly before the concert, is joined by star pianist Emanuel Ax in Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 4: a musical interaction "of a depth of sentiment and an agreement in making music together that sounds wonderfully natural" (Salzburger Nachrichten). The concert ends with Bruckner's monumental Symphony No. 7 with it's famous second movement, which marked the composer's breakthrough and remains one of his most popular symphonies. The Wiener Philharmoniker play under Haitink's masterful baton completely focused, but dynamic and with deepest sensation. The atmosphere of this last performance is without doubt exceptional and a visibly emotional Haitink was celebrated by the audience with long standing ovations. "You shouldn't throw terms like 'magic moments' around easily. But what could be heard in Salzburg was certainly one" (Klassikinfo. De)

The Tuscan city of Siena has a long history and is the site of one of the earliest great Gothic churches of the region, instantly recognizable from the polychrome marble and sculptures of it's facade.

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Franz Welser-Möst has conducted The Cleveland Orchestra in a series of acclaimed video and audio productions, further enhancing the ensemble’s storied recorded legacy. At the Anniversary Gala on September 29, 2018, documented in the present video recording, he programmed works touching on more than a century of Viennese musical traditions. Opening with Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 24, featuring soloist Lang Lang, a regular collaborator with the orchestra since 2000, it also includes works by Richard and Johann Strauss, concluding with Ravel’s cataclysmic La Valse. The Cleveland Orchestra was founded in 1918. Over the ensuing decades, the Orchestra quickly grew from a fine regional organization to being one of the most admired symphony orchestras in the world. Seven music directors have guided and shaped the ensemble’s growth and sound: Nikolai Sokoloff, Artur Rodzinski, Erich Leinsdorf, George Szell, Lorin Maazel, Christoph von Dohnányi, and Franz Welser-Möst. The opening in 1931 of Severance Hall as the Orchestra’s permanent home brought a special pride to the ensemble and its hometown, as well as providing an enviable and intimate acoustic environment in which to develop and refine the Orchestra’s artistry. Touring performances throughout the United States and, beginning in 1957, to Europe and across the globe have confirmed Cleveland’s place among the world’s top orchestras. For this anniversary concert, The Cleveland Orchestra will be joined by none less than world famous pianist Lang Lang. Heralded by the New York times as “the hottest artist on the classical music planet,” Lang Lang works with many of the best classical musicians of our time. He first appeared with The Cleveland Orchestra in 2000.

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Recorded at the Philharmonie am Gasteig, Munich, 2016. As an artist in residence with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the American cellist Yo-Yo Ma had the opportunity to do what is perhaps the second thing he loves the most after playing: sharing his love of music with others. Yo-Yo Ma doesn’t fade away into the music, nor does he take a worshipful attitude towards the pieces he performs. From the moment he walks onto the stage, he exudes charisma that immediately confirms his truly exceptional status as the “best cellist in the world”. With its ten variations on a theme of knightly character for full orchestra, Richard Strauss’ tone poem “Don Quixote” not only depicts the colourful adventures of Cervantes’ chivalrous hero, but also functions as a virtuoso display of glorious solo melodies embedded in stunning orchestral passages. It is, in a way, a second Strauss cello concerto that can take it up with any other late-19th century piece of this kind. Joining “the Don” later is a viola solo that personifies the faithful Sancho Panza and is played by Wen Xiao Zheng.

Disillusioned with life, the aged philosopher Faust calls upon Satan to help him. The devil Méphistophélès appears and strikes a bargain with the philosopher: Faust can have youth and the love of the beautiful Marguerite, but only in exchange for his soul... Gounod’s masterpiece is given the grandest of Royal Opera stagings in David McVicar’s richly layered and theatrically exuberant production, with the drama moved to Second Empire Paris, spectacular sets and costumes, and extensive dance. Michael Fabiano as a seductively witty Faust, Erwin Schrott as a devilish Méphistophélès and Irina Lungu as a passionate Marguerite are joined by the Royal Opera Chorus and a cast of Royal Opera favourites. Dan Ettinger conducts the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House in Gounod’s gloriously tuneful score.

This new release is a second trio of outstanding productions of Shakespeare’s greatest tragedies from the Royal Shakespeare Company. In Romeo and Juliet, the most famous story of love at first sight explodes with intense passion. Macbeth is a contemporary production of Shakespeare’s darkest psychological thriller, whilst Troilus and Cressida presents a satirical futuristic vision of a world resounding with the rhythm of battle. Extra features include cast interviews, directors’ commentaries, interviews with creative teams, and more. “Sweeping and confident production of Shakespeare’s rarely performed tragedy” (Evening Standard, Troilus and Cressida) “A fresh, fleet, blade-sharp revival” (The Telegraph, Romeo and Juliet).

Reviews

On Troilus and Cressida:

"Sweeping and confident production of Shakespeare's rarely performed tragedy." (The Evening Standard ★★★★)

"Gregory Doran's epic Mad Max post-apocalypse style Troilus and Cressida, with its swaggering yet flawed superheroes and ill-fated young lovers, opens with a clash of percussion instruments so loud, the night I saw it many of the audience jumped in their seats. The Scottish virtuoso percussionist Evelyn Glennie has composed her first ever theatre score and it is so phenomenally good you can feel every beat – be it a tank drum, vibraphone or an oil can, "the rhythm of war" is almost deafening at times. A hugely entertaining and engrossing three-hour watch." (WhatsOnStage)

"Two performances stand out. Adjoa Andoh memorably brings out the manipulative monstrosity behind Ulysses’s beguiling rhetoric, literally loading the dice when it comes to the choice of a Greek champion to fight Hector. Oliver Ford Davies is a classic Pandarus, brimming over with senile prurience so that even a line such as “I’ll go get a fire” gains a lurking suggestiveness. The central lovers are also well played, with Amber James’s spryly intelligent Cressida provoked beyond endurance by the naive insistence of Gavin Fowler’s Troilus on her fidelity." (The Guardian ★★★)

On Macbeth:

"Christopher Eccleston and Niamh Cusack make a gripping central couple." (The Stage ★★★★★)

"Urgent and wonderfully sinister." (Evening Standard ★★★★)

On Romeo and Juliet:

"a fresh, fleet, blade-sharp revival" (The Telegraph ★★★★)

"...two hugely appealing performances from Karen Fishwick and Bally Gill as the star-crossed lovers. Together they convey the blinkered giddiness of the young couple’s infatuation, the arrow-slit of adolescence in which tomorrow morning seems an age away and no adult can possibly understand the depth of your pain." (The Stage ★★★★)

"...strong performances in Erica Whyman’s swift production" (The Guardian ★★★)

‘This hand shall never more come near thee with such friendship.' How long is forever? When the imprisoned Palamon and Arcite vow eternal friendship, they don’t expect that anything will come between them. But then from their cell window they see the beautiful Emilia, and their priorities take a sudden and violent turn. In this late romance, Fletcher and Shakespeare examine love in all its fluid and complex forms. Barrie Rutter, recipient of the 2003 Sam Wanamaker Award, directs his first play since stepping down as Artistic Director of Northern Broadsides. Inspired by the play’s Morris language and references, The Two Noble Kinsmen is set in pastoral ‘Merrie England’ and brought to life with original music composed by acclaimed folk musician Eliza Carthy, and dance choreographed by Ewan Wardrop.

Review

Running at a tight two hours 15 minutes, this tragicomedy still squeezes in a lot of Shakespearean tropes: a tyrant king, a last-minute death, and a young woman driven to madness by love...Barrie Rutter’s direction keeps the play together. Coupled with Jessica Worrall’s design, which leaves the grass-covered stage looking like an enchanted forest and the characters leaping between jewel-toned block colours and fringed dance costumes, the production is both lighthearted and light on its feet, with choreographer Ewan Wardrop’s work particularly standing out. Francesca Mills has great comic timing as the jailer’s daughter, as do Paul Stocker and Bryan Dick when they bounce off each other as Palamon and Arcite. (The Guardian)

This collection brings together Globe Theatre productions dating from 2009 to 2015 – during the artistic directorship of Dominic Dromgoole – of twelve of Shakespeare’s most celebrated Comedies. Featuring the finest actors and leading directors, it is part of a project committed to creating ever wider access to this rich cultural heritage. The films in this set capture the unique atmosphere and theatrical space of the Globe Theatre. The exhilarating sense of interaction between the actors on stage and the audience in live performances is exquisitely maintained on screen.

REVIEWS:

"Dominic Dromgoole's zesty production succeeds in captivating the audience to a degree that I would not have thought possible...It's a treat." (The Independent on Love's Labour's Lost)

"This is a crowd-pleasing production...and the laughs come thick and fast" (Evening Standard on The Taming of the Shrew)

"Eve Best and Charles Edwards are gorgeously well-matched and sublimely ridiculous." (Time Out on Much Ado About Nothing)

"Naomi Frederick's superb Rosalind is a woman of wit and intelligence...Laskey's Orlando is equally bewitched, bothered and bewildered, and the playfulness between the two is a pleasure." (The Guardian on As You Like It)

What makes a King? What makes a father? Shakespeare's monumental history play travels to the heart of family, duty and country. This innovative film, recorded before a live audience, documents the Donmar Warehouse's all-female stage production, adapted from William Shakespeare's two plays about King Henry IV, Prince Hal and Falstaff. The bold, contemporary production is presented as if played by inmates of a women's prison and was described by critics as 'unforgettable'. The director for both stage and screen is Phyllida Lloyd, and Harriet Walter is Henry IV. The Donmar Shakespeare Trilogy began in 2012 with an all-female production of Julius Caesar led by Dame Harriet Walter. Set in a women's prison, the production asked the question, "Who owns Shakespeare?" Two further productions followed: Henry IV in 2014 and The Tempest in 2016, all featuring a diverse company of women. The Trilogy enthralled theatre audiences in London and New York and was shared with women and girls in prisons and schools across the UK. The film versions were shot live in a specially built temporary theatre in King's Cross in 2016, and now offer screen audiences unique access to these ground-breaking productions.

Recorded live at the Shakespeare’s Globe, 2015.

Shakespeare set this darkest of comedies in Vienna to cloak a scathing critique of hypocrisy in the corrupt authority of his own London. Purity and mercy do win out in the end, but not before audiences are treated to the lighter side of depravity in a ‘riotously enjoyable’ (The Independent) ‘crowd-pleasing saucy romp’ (Evening Standard). In this, his Globe Theatre farewell, Director Dominic Dromgoole’s ‘buoyant production’ (Guardian) casts a Mariah Gale ‘so centred and self-possessed that Isabella’s conviction seems to reach every corner of the house without once turning cloying’ (New York Times).

REVIEW:

Mariah Gale is an outstanding Isabella.

-- The Sunday Times (UK)

Ruling by divine right, but himself ruled by caprice, King Richard exiles Henry Bolingbroke and seizes his father’s vast estates. While Richard is distracted by a rebellion in Ireland, Bolingbroke returns to England, intent on recovering his rightful property and, with the support of his disgruntled peers, perhaps seizing the crown itself. Dazzlingly eloquent and ceremonious, Richard II invests a weak and self-dramatizing man with tragic status and represents Shakespeare’s most searching exploration of the meaning of kingship and the rising powers that can destroy it.

REVIEW:

Charles Edwards’s excellent Richard pierces the heart. Recommended. (The Independent)

Recorded live at the Shakespeare’s Globe, May 2014.

Antony and Cleopatra is Shakespeare’s great historical love story, a tragedy infused with comic elements that explores the conflicting claims of sex and power, expressed in poetry of breath-taking beauty. Conveying the polarities of Rome and Egypt, Jonathan Munby’s ‘exquisitely understated’ (Independent) Globe production effortlessly captures the play’s cinematic rhythm, with Clive Wood cast as a ruffian, ‘indomitable’ Antony (Financial Times) and Eve Best ‘restlessly sensual’ (Guardian) in her lauded portrayal of the mercurial Cleopatra.

REVIEWS:

A blistering roar of a production.

-- London Theatre

Richly Entertaining...

-- The Times (UK)

Spellbinding mood...

-- The Independent

The smash hit of Shakespeare’s early career, Titus Andronicus is one of the Bard’s most experimental works, a revenge tale of the utmost brutality that centers around the honored Roman general who fatally refuses to show mercy to the eldest son of Tamora, Queen of the Goths, whom he has defeated in war. Hailed as 'one of the darkest and most seminal productions in the Globe’s history' (Daily Telegraph), director Lucy Bailey’s staging of the Roman tragedy sees the great London theatre transformed into a temple of death, one in which swathes of black fabric coalesce with horrific violence and stand-out performances to create shatteringly powerful drama. Filmed in 2014, this revival of Lucy Bailey’s gory 2006 production of Shakespeare’s revenge tragedy had audiences fainting in the aisles. Shakespeare’s bloodiest play features scenes of rape, mutilation, murder and cannibalism.

REVIEWS:

"You leave the theatre feeling both harrowed to the marrow and disconcertingly elated." (The Daily Telegraph)

"Lucy Bailey's blackly comical production is the best I've seen." (The Times)

"Exceptional." (The Independent)

Portia, a wealthy heiress of Belmont, is forced to set her suitors a challenge. The winner will win her hand in marriage; the losers will lose her hand and much more. In Venice, the epicenter of consumption, speculation and debt, Bassanio borrows money from his friend Antonio to finance his attempt. Antonio, in turn, takes out a loan from the moneylender Shylock. The loan will be repaid when Antonio’s ships return to the city. But if the ships fail to return, and the money cannot be repaid, Antonio will give to Shylock a pound of his own flesh. And they do fail. And Shylock will have his ‘bond’. In some of his most highly-charged scenes, Shakespeare dramatizes the competing claims of tolerance and intolerance, religious law and civil society, justice and mercy; while in the character of Shylock he created one of the most memorable outsiders in all theatre. Double Olivier and Tony award winner Jonathan Pryce plays Shylock in his first appearance at Shakespeare’s Globe.

REVIEWS:

"Jonathan Munby's exceptionally well-told, well-played, well-paced, well-dressed revival...The Globe at its best." (The Mail on Sunday ★★★★★)

"A finely balanced, intelligent production." (The Times ★★★★)

"Jonathan Pryce is electrifyingly good… Jonathan Munby’s production really sings." (Time Out ★★★★)

"Jonathan Pryce, making his Globe debut, presents us with a Shylock of weight, gravity and considerable complexity." (The Guardian ★★★★)

"Director Jonathan Munby...extracts maximum comedy. He gives full weight to the romance, with Daniel Lapine and David Sturzaker excellent as the Venetian young bloods." (The Sunday Express ★★★★)

"Jonathan Munby’s oak-solid, finely weighted production…The lighter and darker elements combine in a seamless whole." (The Daily Telegraph)

"Jonathan Pryce as Shylock and his daughter, Phoebe…an inspiration. It’s a family affair – a double star turn." (The Observer ★★★★★)

"Pryce is excellent, with a notable gravitas and richness of performance. There’s particularly lovely work from Dorothea Myer-Bennett as Nerissa…she offers a delicious range of expressive looks and gestures." (The Evening Standard)

"A revival that boasts a fine Bassanio in Daniel Lapaine and re-focuses the role of Gratiano (David Sturzaker) as a really good one." (WhatsOnStage ★★★★)

From its mesmerizing first moments to the final fulfillment of the witches’ prophecy, Macbeth is one of Shakespeare’s darkest and most powerful tragedies – a gripping account of one man’s determination to secure his ambition and pronounced destiny, the crown of Scotland, by whatever means necessary. Filmed in High Definition and true surround sound, this production marked actor Eve Best’s sensational debut as a director and was described as ‘cracking – at times, terrifying’ (Daily Telegraph). Joseph Millson and Samantha Spiro lead the cast, offering ‘superb fresh-minted performances’ as the power-obsessed Macbeth and his increasingly guilt-ridden wife.

Reviews

Samantha Spiro as Lady Macbeth and Joseph Millson as Macbeth give a rousing, frenetic portrait of a power-couple with a compulsion for bloodshed...Millson’s constant disbelief at what he is doing is a source of much of the production’s humour. But because he performs with such conviction, cumulatively it also packs a horrific punch – not least when he makes grasp for his wife’s throat...one of the warmest productions of ‘Macbeth’ you’ll ever see, but one which still strikes the requisite chill to the heart. Time Out

Millson [delivers] the famous “sound and fury” speech with a quiet desperation and indeed it is in the play’s quieter moments when he is given the chance to stand still that he really shines. The Upcoming

"Eve Best's directorial debut is a cracking – at times, terrifying – production of Macbeth." (The Daily Telegraph on Macbeth)

Widely considered to be the last of his solo plays, The Tempest is Shakespeare’s final masterpiece, a tale of ‘forgiveness, generosity and enlightenment’ in which Prospero, the rightful Duke of Milan, conjures up a storm to lure his perfidious brother to the enchanted island on which he and his daughter Miranda have spent 12 years in exile. Combining sumptuous Jacobean costume with enchanting music and ‘spellbinding staging’ (The Daily Telegraph), this acclaimed Globe production – starring Olivier Award winner Roger Allam as a ‘poignantly humane’ Prospero (The Financial Times) – is a touching portrayal of one of the Bard's most lyrical stage works. Filmed in High Definition and true Surround Sound.

Review

Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew tells the tale of the sharp-tongued Kate, who must marry before her younger sister, Bianca, is allowed to find a suitor. Undaunted by her waspish reputation, Petruchio attempts to woo the not-so-fair maiden, but is faced with a tirade of poisonous insults. Samantha Spiro stars as cantankerous Kate, capable of knocking a grown man down with her fist. With a stellar supporting cast, the production is a triumph, thanks to its ‘riotous mixture of verbal dexterity and slapstick’ (The Daily Telegraph). Filmed in High Definition and true Surround Sound.

REVIEWS:

"This is a crowd-pleasing production...and the laughs come thick and fast" (The Evening Standard)

"Toby Frow balances the play’s startling cruelty with exuberant comic energy...This intelligent and energetic production finds the tenderness in the text, and sends its audience home amused, exhilarated, but also disturbed — which is as it should be." (The Telegraph)

One of Shakespeare’s best-loved comedies, Twelfth Night was ‘blissfully reborn’ (The Daily Telegraph) for the 2012/13 season at London’s Globe Theatre, under the direction of Tim Carroll. The hilarious tale of misdirection and deception is performed here by an all-male cast, as it would have been in Shakespeare’s day, with Mark Rylance playing Olivia and Roger Lloyd Pack as the hapless Sir Andrew Aguecheek. The production also marks Stephen Fry’s triumphant return to the stage as the pompous Malvolio, ridiculous in his yellow stockings. Filmed in High Definition and true surround sound. Spoken in Shakespeare’s English with English and German subtitles.

REVIEWS:

"…no single actor dominates this radical yet perfectly balanced production at the Globe" (The Guardian)

"The irony is that Fry's performance – intelligently pondered, generous to the other actors, and almost studiedly not a "star turn" by a celebrity guest artiste – is exactly the opposite in tendency" (The Idependent)

"Although this is ensemble theatre at its finest, it’s Rylance’s contribution that puts the production among all-time Shakespeare greats. Frankly unmissable." (The Daily Telegraph ★★★★★)

Rebellion and maturity run through Shakespeare's histories like a single twisted thread, exemplified by the tearaway turned - hero Hal and his forever adolescent associate Falstaff, who deserves and gets a comedy to himself in The Merry Wives of Windsor. Lives real and imagined, nobles and beggars, Tudor history and culture all spring to vivid life on the stage of the Globe Theatre in award-winning productions featuring many fine British actors and original music played by a Shakespearean pit band playing period instruments.

Reviews

"Henry IV is the Shakespeare play that's perfectly suited to the Globe. In Dominic Dromgoole's intelligent, faithful andentertaining new production, Sir John Falstaff, that 'sweet creature of bombast', might have stopped for a pint of sack in Southwark en route for a rendezvous with Doll Tearsheet at the Boar's Head." (The Guardian on Henry IV 1-2)

"A joyous spectacle." (The Sunday Telegraph on Henry VIII)

"Oustanding." (The Guardian on Henry VIII)

"Audiences tend to adore this play, in which Shakespeare genially celebrates his own middle-class English provincial background and seeks to do nothing more than entertain - which he does, splendidly. The Merry Wives, with its ridiculous foreigners, jealous husbands and scenes of low farce, keeps you chuckling almost throughout." (The Daily Telegraph on The Merry Wives of Windsor)

One of Shakespeare’s most popular comedies, Much Ado About Nothing contrasts the happiness of lovers Claudio and Hero, and the cynicism of sparring partners Beatrice and Benedick, who are united in their scorn for love. Trickery plays a large part in the story, as Beatrice and Benedick are duped into declaring their love for one another, and the dastardly Don John deceives Claudio into believing that Hero has been unfaithful. Marking the debut of director Jeremy Herrin at the Globe Theatre, this production features Eve Best as the feisty and high-spirited Beatrice and Charles Edwards as her cynical counterpart, Benedick.

Reviews

"Eve Best and Charles Edwards are gorgeously well-matched and sublimely ridiculous." (Time Out London)

"Shakespeare's Globe has got in with the first of two Much Ado productions and raises the bar high with an exuberant production." (The Daily Telegraph)

Doctor Faustus is Christopher Marlowe’s most renowned and controversial work. Famous for being the first dramatized version of the Faustus tale, the play depicts the sinister aftermath of Faustus’s decision to sell his soul to the Devil’s henchman in exchange for power and knowledge. In the first-ever staging of this menacing drama at the Globe Theatre, Matthew Dunster’s production features Paul Hilton as the arrogant, power-hungry Faustus and Arthur Darvill as the sardonic Mephistopheles, and includes several impressive magical stunts along the way.

Review

"A triumph of spine-tingling spectacle. Director Matthew Dunster conjures in a way that would delight the Prince of Darkness himself." (The Spectator)

Shakespeare’s All’s Well That Ends Well centers on the tale of Helena’s quest to marry the man she loves, the rather unimpressed Bertram, who initially refuses her due to her lack of social standing. Aided by fellow conspirator Diana, Helena devises a fail-safe scheme to ensnare her man. The production, directed by John Dove, stars Sam Crane and Ellie Piercey as Bertram and Helena, and includes performances by James Garnon as troublemaker Parolles and Janie Dee as Bertram’s interfering mother, the Countess of Roussillon. With lavish staging and costume, the production is a triumph that, according to The Independent, ‘leaves the audience reeling with happiness by the end.’

Reviews

"With so much to praise, it is hard to prioritise, but here goes..." (The Independent)

"This is a good, clear, well-spoken production by John Dove of one of Shakespeare's most beguiling but least-loved plays." (The Guardian)