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)

Excellent…a rolling mass of desire, repression and duplicity FINANCIAL TIMES "This fresh, insightful version of a morally murky play finds the RSC on flying form" MAIL ON SUNDAY When a young novice nun is compromised by a corrupt official, who offers to save her brother from execution in return for sex, she has no idea where to turn for help. When she threatens to expose him, he tells her that no one would believe her. Shakespeare wrote this play in the early 1600s, yet it remains astonishingly resonant today. Artistic Director Gregory Doran directs this new production of Shakespeare’s astonishingly resonant work.

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)

"•First release in a new partnership with the RSC • Starring distinguished TV, Film and Theatre actor David Tennant whose credits range from Doctor Who to Hamlet at the RSC • Production directed by Gregory Doran “one of the great Shakespearians of his generation” (The Sunday Times)"

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)

Richard is hideous, deformed and full of hatred for the world. He exploits the ambitions of others for his own ends. With unscrupulous virtuosity he clears away every obstacle that lies in his path to becoming king. But even this triumph fails to heal the great insult nature has visited upon him. Alone at the apex of the English kingdom, he now turns his rage on his true nemesis – himself. “Richard III” is one of Shakespeare’s earliest works, first performed around 1593. But until this day the title character with his unbridled, single-minded, gleefully exhibited amorality has lost none of his fascination. Staged by Thomas Ostermeier at the Schaubühne Berlin this production is perfectly casted with a selected team and a compelling Lars Eidinger as Richard.

‘Conscience is but a word that cowards use’ – Young Richard of Gloucester uses the chaos of the Wars of the Roses to begin his unscrupulous climb to power. Despite being manifestly unfit to govern, he seizes the crown as King Richard III. But how does he do it? How do we let tyrants get away with it? How do they find their way to power? Why do we buy into it? And how can it be stopped? Richard III is a savagely comic analysis of the exercise of power. It reminds us both of the dangers of tyranny and of our duty not to let it go unchecked. Directed by Gregory Doran and featuring Arthur Hughes as Richard, this is the thrilling climax to Shakespeare’s first great history cycle.

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 ★★★★)

There’s more than a hint of reality TV to this modern production of Shakespeare’s hilarious comedy of suburbia, wives and over-inflated egos directed by Fiona Laird. John Falstaff plans to hustle his way to a comfortable retirement by seducing the wives of two wealthy men. Unknown to him, it’s the women of Windsor who really pull the strings, orchestrating Falstaff’s comeuppance amidst a theatrical smorgasbord of petty rivalries, jealousies and overinflated egos. For a fat Englishman, a Welshman and a Frenchman, the only way is Windsor. “Fiona Laird’s production introduces new elements that chime deliciously with the spirit of Shakespeare’s play… risky, but it all pays off.” (The Financial Times)

Double-meanings, disguises and dirty laundry abound as Sir John Falstaff sets about improving his financial situation by wooing Mistress Page and Mistress Ford. But the ‘Merry Wives’ quickly cotton on to his tricks and decide to have a bit of fun of their own at Falstaff’s expenses. The Merry Wives of Windsor is the only comedy that Shakespeare set in his native land. Drawing influences from British 1930s fashion, music and dance, this production celebrates women, the power and beauty of nature, and with its witty mix of verbal and physical humor, rejoices in a tradition that reaches right down to the contemporary English sitcom.

Directed by Elle While (Hamlet, As You Like It), this production stars Olivier Award-nominated Bryony Hannah (Call the Midwife, The Children’s Hour) as Mistress Ford, Sarah Finigan (Suffragette, Upstart Crow, Globe on Tour) as Mistress Page, and Pearce Quigley (Detectorists, Hamlet, As You Like It) as Falstaff. The Windsor Locals appear courtesy of Soldiers’ Arts Academy, London Bubble and Clean Break. Spoken in Shakespeare’s English.

REVIEWS:

There's something magical about watching a Shakespeare play being performed at The Globe Theatre...The Merry Wives of Windsor is an intricate play with various subplots and a multitude of characters and in this production, director Elle While places a 1930s spin on things.

Padded out with a rotund stomach, rumpled and with a heavy northern accent, Quigley creates a memorable performance. When it is revealed that everyone has worked together to play a trick on Falstaff, Quigley's sad and defeated demeanour brings about audible sympathy from the audience. He gets the loudest laughs and the audience lap up every second of his performance.

Quigley is without a doubt the standout performer in this production, but he's well supported by Hedydd Dylan (as Welsh priest Sir Hugh Evans), Anita Reynolds as Mistress Quickly and Richard Katz as Dr Caius, with his heavy French accent manages to balance the fine line of comedy. The fairy dance is wonderfully choreographed by Sasha Milavic Davies and the score by Frank Moon is brilliantly played by the band who sit above the action on stage.

-- Broadway World

The only one of Shakespeare’s plays to be set within his own class and country, The Merry Wives of Windsor is a farcical tale centering on the wily attempts of Sir John Falstaff to relieve his drinking debts through swindling and seduction. Featuring Christopher Benjamin in the title role, deftly supported by Serena Evans and Sarah Woodward as the scheming Mistress Page and Mistress Ford, this critically-acclaimed production was described by the Daily Telegraph as brimming with ‘humanity, ingenuity and irresistible charm’. A performance guaranteed to entertain.

REVIEWS:

"This revival of Christopher Luscombe's lively 2008 production is the perfect addition to the Globe's 2010 Kings and Rogues season and is arguably the most accessible to a contemporary audience." (The Stage)

"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)

“A landmark production as women take charge,” (Evening Standard) In a reimagined 1590, society is a matriarchy. Baptista Minola is seeking to sell off her son Katherine to the highest bidder. Cue an explosive battle of the sexes in this electrically charged love story. Shakespeare’s fierce, energetic comedy of gender and materialism is turned on its head to offer a fresh perspective on its portrayal of hierarchy and power, directed by Justin Audibert. “Bonkers but… brilliant.” (The Sunday Times)

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)

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

The final installment in the Donmar Warehouse’s all-female Shakespeare Trilogy sees Harriet Walter take on the role of Prospero in this evocation of the eternal struggle for freedom, morality and justice. Directed for both stage and screen by Phyllida Lloyd. Set on an isle ‘full of noises’, this magical production features a glowing score by Joan Armatrading. Critics celebrated the original staging as ‘A glorious reminder that genuine diversity offers astonishing creative benefits’. 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 groundbreaking productions.

‘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)

On this new release from the Royal Shakespeare Company, Shakespeare’s classic tale is reimagined especially for the screen. King Leontes rips his family apart but grief opens his heart. Will he find the child he abandoned before it is too late? This production of Shakespeare’s play is staged for the screen by the RSC. Directed by Erica Whyman, the play is set across a 16-year span, from the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II to the moon landings. “The first ever televised Royal Shakespeare Company world premiere is solid.” (The Independent) “Autolycus can be a touchstone for personal taste and Anne Odeke was delicious here across the whole gamut, from singing voice through to cream-cake comedy.” (The Arts Desk)

Reviews

“Enchanting” – The Times ★★★★

“Engaging and high-spirited” – The Stage ★★★★

When Leontes, Sicilian king, becomes convinced his pregnant wife Hermione is conducting an affair with his closest friend Polixenes, King of Bohemia, he is so enraged he banishes her newborn child, while Hermione apparently dies of grief. Sixteen years later, the child, Perdita, having been raised in Bohemia by shepherds, is in love with Florizel, son of Polixenes, who forbids their marriage. The lovers travel to Leontes’ court seeking happiness, which they find – in ways nobody expected. Blanche McIntyre directs a new version of Shakespeare’s great play of the irrational and inexplicable. Set in a world of monsters, gods and natural disasters, travel from the stifling atmosphere of the Sicilian court to the unbuttoned joy of a Bohemian festival.

REVIEWS:

A show for the die-hard Shakespeare fans, certainly, but also an excellent introduction to those less familiar with his work. It's a theatrical experience only the Globe could offer, and one that should be grabbed with both hands[.]

-- Broadway World

Director Sean Holmes has pulled off a coup: the first director to use both of the Globe’s theatres in a single evening. It’s an obvious response to The Winter’s Tale’s two contrasting kingdoms, and – in practical terms – it works brilliantly. The claustrophobic interiors of Sicilia in the Wanamaker Playhouse (pitch perfect from designer Grace Smart) give way to the breezy openness (those “winds of March” right on cue) of the Globe itself, and Bohemia’s riotous sheep-shearing celebrations.

-- The Arts Desk

Three of Shakespeare's most famous tragedies are presented here as a set. Rising star Paapa Essiedu gives a stunning performance in Simon Godwin's riveting contemporary take on Hamlet; Antony Sher leads the way as the proud but fatally flawed monarch in RSC Artistic Director Gregory Doran's acclaimed King Lear; completing the collection is Iqbal Khan's astonishing and ground-breaking production of Othello, featuring Hugh Quarshie in the title role and Lucian Msamati as Iago. "It is an utterly engaging performance by Paapa Essiedu." (The Times - Hamlet) "... an arresting, accessible and entertaining production, with a shooting star of a central performance." (The Stage - Hamlet) "Sher is magnificent at the fierce, rebarbative side of this monarch. Reduced to long johns and a white shirt, he also affectingly communicates the man who, liberated by adversity, exposes himself to feel what wretches feel... (The Independent - King Lear) "Iqbal Khan's gripping production has already made history by being the first at Stratford to cast a black actor as Iago. But I had not anticipated how many fascinating ideas such an imaginative piece of casting would provoke. Hugh Quarshie is an excellent Othello torn between ancient loyalties and his assimilationist position, between his aching love for Desdemona and his easily fostered insecurity..." (The Guardian - Othello)

A parable for our times. -- Daily Telegraph

A searing central performance. -- The Guardian

In a world driven by greed, what do we truly value? Timon has it all – money, influence, friends. Surely it can’t last? When the money runs out, Timon soon finds her influence and friends have also gone. Left alone, she flees Athens to take refuge in the woods, cursing the city she once loved. Simon Godwin directs Kathryn Hunter as Timon in this dark satire, which forces us to question: where does happiness really lie?

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)

Virtuoso percussionist Evelyn Glennie collaborates with RSC Artistic Director Gregory Doran to create a satirical futuristic vision of a world resounding with the rhythm of battle, a form of incidental music suited to this Shakespearean rarity.

“Lechery, lechery, still wars and lechery: nothing else holds fashion.” Love, rivalry and war are a-plenty in this new production. Troilus and Cressida swear they will always be true to one another. But in the seventh year of the siege of Troy their innocence is tested, and exposed to the savage corrupting influence of war, with tragic consequences. “Sweeping and confident production of Shakespeare’s rarely performed tragedy.” (The Standard)

REVIEWS:

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

In William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, twins are separated in a shipwreck and forced to fend for themselves in a strange land. The first twin, Viola, falls in love with Orsino, who dotes on Olivia, who falls for Viola but is idolized by Malvolio. Enter Sebastian, who is the spitting image of his twin sister... 'Twelfth Night' is a tale of unrequited love - hilarious and heartbreaking. Extra features on this release include an interview with Dinita Gohil, a cast gallery and a director's commentary. ‘‘Sumptuous romp is a festive season treat. Heavens, this does look lovely.’’ (Evening Standard) ‘‘Christopher Luscombe’s deliciously louche production…it’s a visual feast…sumptuous nostalgia’’ (Daily Mail) ‘‘The most heartwarming production of Shakespeare at the RSC since director Christopher Luscombe’s last, three years ago.’’ (Sunday Mirror)

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 ★★★★★)

In addition to being a renowned new music pianist, Margaret Leng Tan is a specialist at the toy piano. Her performances are dramatically captured here by Spanish director Anton Cabaleiro. Ms. Tan performs Cage's classic"Suite for Toy Piano," her arrangement.