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)

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

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)

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)

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)

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 ★★★)

Puccini began to compose Manon Lescaut in 1889. It was an act of supreme bravado as only five years previously Massenet had premiered Manon, based on the same novel by Abbé Prévost. The story is set in France and Louisiana in the early 18th century and focuses on – in a way different to Massenet – the fortunes and tragedy of the hero, the Chevalier des Grieux, and his lover, Manon. Its ceaseless melodic beauty and drama were recognized immediately and the first night was an overwhelming triumph, with Puccini effectively anointed as Verdi’s successor and Italy’s greatest operatic composer. Ninety years after its 1893 premiere in Turin, the work was staged by the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. The 1983 production was conducted by Giuseppe Sinopoli, making his British operatic debut to such remarkable effect that The Times referred to him as ‘Europe’s most spectacular new opera star’. The cast included three of the greatest exponents of their roles; Plácido Domingo as the romantic hero whose performance ‘was a cause for drop-jawed wonder’ (The Spectator), the radiant Kiri Te Kanawa as Manon and Thomas Allen as her brother, Lescaut. Director Götz Friedrich’s largely traditional staging proved a major theatrical success.

Experience a staple of the Oxford calendar in this set of works inspired by the May Morning tradition, with music spanning from the traditional to contemporary. Starting with The College Clock welcoming in the sunrise, this special recording displays The Magdalen College Choir in radiant form, shining in the glorious acoustics of the Church of St. John the Evangelist, Oxford. The Choir of Magdalen College, Oxford was founded in 1480 with provision made in the statutes for 16 singing boys, eight Academical Clerks and four chaplains. Magdalen College was then one of the oldest and largest choral foundations in late-medieval England, and this historic legacy has been preserved and maintained over five centuries. The Choir, which now enjoys an international reputation as one of the finest ensembles in the UK, exists primarily to sing the daily church services in Magdalen College Chapel.

Verdi was commissioned by the Paris Opera to write Don Carlo to a French libretto. The source material was a dramatic play by Schiller and the work premiered as a five-act grand opera in March 1867 under the title Don Carlos. Set in the 16th century, its subject is Carlo, the son of Spain’s King Phillip II, and his love for Elizabetta, whom Philip later marries. The nature of the crises and conflicts Carlo faces, personal and political, drive the drama with unremitting intensity. In 1958 the celebrated director Luchino Visconti was invited by the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden to stage his first opera outside Italy. The choice was the five-act Italian-language Don Carlo and the spectacular production was pivotal in establishing this version as a repertoire piece. In 1985 the Royal Opera House once again presented its Visconti production with Bernard Haitink memorably directing a superb cast that includes Ileana Cotrubas at the height of her powers and Luis Lima, unequalled in his tortured introspection, in the title role.

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 ★★★★

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

This special Blu-ray brings together two compelling works showing the dramatic range of Lauren Cuthbertson, and The Royal Ballet. Internationally acclaimed choreographer Cathy Marston, previously Associate Artist of The Royal Opera House and Director of Bern Ballett, created The Cellist for The Royal Ballet in 2020. The inspiration for her first work for the Royal Opera House Main Stage is the momentous life and career of cellist Jacqueline du Pr� - from her discovery of the cello and her celebrity as one of it's most extraordinary players, to her pain, frustration and struggle with multiple sclerosis. Composer Philip Feeney incorporates some of the most moving and powerful music for cello by Elgar, Beethoven, Faur�, Mendelssohn, Piatti, Rachmaninoff and Schubert into an exquisite score that is itself an homage to the cello. In The Two Pigeons, Lauren Cuthbertson and Vadim Muntagirov lead a charismatic cast in Ashton's poignant and heart-warming reflection on love, based on an old French folk tale and first performed on Valentine's Day 1961. Created by the Company's Founder Choreographer, this recording captures The Royal Ballet's famous skill and distinctive style as Barry Wordsworth conducts the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House in Messager's rapturous score.

In a deserted city, a young boy stumbles into a theatre. He wanders through the auditorium, where rows of velvet chairs, draping curtains and chandeliers seem to lie in lonely wait for audiences to return. The theatre may be empty, but the show will go on...

Starring characters from the most popular festive ballets, the worlds of the Snow Queen and the Sugar Plum Fairy collide when the theatre bursts into life. In this spectacular, feature-length film, you’ll be treated to an extraordinary show filled with acrobats, snowflakes, clowns, princes and – of course – beautiful ballerinas.

The Secret Theatre features the choreography of Scottish Ballet founder Peter Darrell and CEO/Artistic Director Christopher Hampson, co-directed for the screen by Jess & Morgs. Featuring set and costumes designed by Lez Brotherston, music by Rimsky-Korsakov and Tchaikovsky recorded live by the Scottish Ballet Orchestra - including a new additional composition by Frank Moon, and of course spectacular performances from the full Scottish Ballet Company.

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

‘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.

Experience the thrill of rebellion, the brutality of battle, and ambition without boundaries in Shakespeare’s epic trilogy about one of the most turbulent periods in English history. This box set trilogy, available together for the first time on DVD, includes: Henry VI: Part One Filmed as a rehearsal run through performance during the Covid 19 pandemic, Henry VI: Part One introduces us to a young and reclusive Henry, who is proclaimed King of England after the death of his father, Henry V. Directed by Gregory Doran and Owen Horsley. Henry VI: Rebellion: As fighting and division in the corridors of power continues, and Henry’s hold on the English throne wavers, ordinary men and women start to speak out. But as the people rise in protest, who is behind their rebellion? Directed by Owen Horsley. Henry VI: Wars of the Roses: In this thrilling climax, the tussle for the English crown escalates to the battlefield as the families of Lancaster and York drench their brutal conflict in sweat and blood. Directed by Owen Horsley.

Glyndebourne’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream is pure magic. Brilliantly adapted from Shakespeare’s play, the opera follows the adventures of four lovers and a group of naïve rustics who, in a wood on a moonstruck midsummer night, fall foul of Oberon and Tytania, the quarrelling king and queen of the fairies. In Peter Hall’s remarkable staging, the very wood comes alive as logs and trees move and rustle, creating ambiguous silhouettes in the dark mysterious woodland, lit only by designer John Bury’s wonderful rising sun and moon.

Recorded 1983.

British mezzo-soprano, Dame Janet Baker, chose to retire from the operatic stage singing the title role in Sir Peter Hall's acclaimed production of Orfeo ed Euridice. This 1982 recording from Glyndebourne, where Dame Janet appropriately began her professional career, proved a suitable crowning glory to the career of one of the great singing actresses of our age. Dame Janet's realisation of Orfeo, the grieving musician from Greek mythology, who follows his beloved wife Euridice to the depths of Hades in an attempt to bring her back from the dead, is totally convincing “… a quite staggering performance …” (MusicWeb International)

This studio recording of Alexander Glazunov's Raymonda was captured in October 2022. The arrangement was created for the ENB's 2022 production, with a score specially adapted and edited by Gavin Sutherland and Lars Payne. The lavish orchestral adaptation retains the best of the composer's original score, updating it to match the dramatic new narrative devised by Tamara Rojo.

Kit Harington (Game of Thrones) plays the title role in Shakespeare’s thrilling study of nationalism, war and the psychology of power. Captured live from the Donmar Warehouse in London. Fresh to the throne, King Henry V launches England into a bloody war with France. When his campaign encounters resistance, this inexperienced new ruler must prove he is fit to guide a country into war. Directed by Max Webster (Life of Pi), this exciting modern production explores what it means to be English and our relationship to Europe, asking: do we ever get the leaders we deserve?

Rusalka, a water spirit, lives with her family in the pure waters of the forest lake. When she falls in love with a Prince, she sacrifices her voice and leaves her home in the hope of finding true love in a new world - a world that does not love her back.�Natalie Abrahami and Ann Yee create a poetic, contemporary new staging of Dvorak's lyric fairy tale, revealing our uneasy relationship with the natural world and humanity's attempts to own and tame it. Semyon Bychkov conducts an all-star cast featuring Asmik Grigorian in the title role.

Rusalka, a water spirit, lives with her family in the pure waters of the forest lake. When she falls in love with a Prince, she sacrifices her voice and leaves her home in the hope of finding true love in a new world - a world that does not love her back.�Natalie Abrahami and Ann Yee create a poetic, contemporary new staging of Dvorak's lyric fairy tale, revealing our uneasy relationship with the natural world and humanity's attempts to own and tame it. Semyon Bychkov conducts an all-star cast featuring Asmik Grigorian in the title role.

Love and duty collide and nations clash in Verdi's political drama, starring Elena Stikhina. In this new production, director Robert Carsen situates Verdi's large-scale drama within a contemporary world, framing it's power struggles and toxic jealousies in the apparatus of a modern, totalitarian state. Antonio Pappano conducts Verdi's glorious, monumental score.

This Blu-ray Disc is only playable on Blu-ray Disc players and not compatible with standard DVD players.

Also available on standard DVD

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.

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.