Literary studies: plays and playwrights Books
Spark The Taming of the Shrew
Book SynopsisNo Fear Shakespeare gives you the complete text of The Taming of the Shrew on the left-hand page, side-by-side with an easy-to-understand translation on the right.
£7.59
Faber & Faber Constellations
Book Synopsis''One drink. And if you never want to see me again you never have to see me again.''A quantum physicist and a beekeeper meet. They hit it off, or perhaps they don't. They might go home together, they might not.Constellations explores love, free will, and friendship through quantum multiverse theory and honey.Constellations premiered at the Royal Court Theatre Upstairs, London, in 2012, and transferred to the Duke of York's. It opened on Broadway in 2015; and at the Vaudeville Theatre, London, in 2021.Nick Payne's gorgeous two-character drama, may be the most sophisticated date play Broadway has seen.' New York Times
£10.44
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Top Girls
Book SynopsisAt a restaurant party thrown by Marlene of the Top Girls Employment Agency are Isabella Bird, the 19th-century traveller, Lady Nijo, courtesan to a 13th-century Japanese Emperor, Brueghel's Dull Gret, Pope Joan and Patient Griselda, wife of Chaucer's Clerk.Trade Review"Top Girls has a combination of directness and complexity which keeps you both emotionally and intellectually alert. You can smell life, and at the same time feel locked in an argument with an agile and passionate mind." The Sunday Times, John Peter
£10.44
Spark Romeo and Juliet (No Fear Shakespeare)
Book SynopsisNo Fear Shakespeare gives you the complete text of Romeo and Juliet on the left-hand page, side-by-side with an easy-to-understand translation on the right. Each No Fear Shakespeare contains: The complete text of the original play A line-by-line translation that puts Shakespeare into everyday language A complete list of characters with descriptions Plenty of helpful commentary. The famous tale of star-crossed lovers.
£7.99
Spark Macbeth (No Fear Shakespeare): Volume 1
Book SynopsisRead Shakespeare’s plays in all their brilliance—and understand what every word means! Don’t be intimidated by Shakespeare! These popular guides make the Bard’s plays accessible and enjoyable.Each No Fear guide contains: The complete text of the original play A line-by-line translation that puts the words into everyday language A complete list of characters, with descriptions Plenty of helpful commentary
£7.59
HarperCollins Publishers Romeo and Juliet
Book SynopsisHarperCollins is proud to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics.Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight!For I ne''er saw true beauty till this night.'Arguably the greatest love story ever told, Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet continues to touch modern audiences with its passionate depiction of the tragic romance between two young lovers. With a bitter feud between their respective families, Romeo and Juliet's love is troubled from the start, and through their relationship, Shakespeare shows the fine line between love, hatred, comedy and tragedy.
£5.62
Faber & Faber Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead Screenplay
Book SynopsisRosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead is a play which, as it were, takes place in the wings of Hamlet, and finds both humour and poignancy in the situation of the ill-fated attendant lords. The National Theatre production in April 1967 made Tom Stoppard''s reputation virtually overnight. Its wit, stagecraft and verbal verve remain as exhilarating as they were then and the play has become a contemporary classic.
£10.44
Yale University Press Faust
Book SynopsisPresents a philosophical and poetic drama full of satire, irony, humour and tragedy. This book creates the text's varied metre and rhyme and also its diverse tones and styles - dramatic and lyrical, reflective and farcical, pathetic and coarse, colloquial and soaring.Trade Review"Greenberg is quite remarkable, and at his best truly brilliant, in evoking the poetic ‘feel’ of Goethe’s original. I do not believe that any other version of Faust has attempted anything quite like it."—Cyrus Hamlin, Yale University (on the earlier edition of Part One)"Goethe’s Faust is an enigmatic and perhaps barely translatable masterpiece. Its grotesque and exuberant part 2 must be the most outrageous poem in the western canon. Martin Greenberg’s revised version conveys the outrage yet also shows again and again why the poem does stand with the major works of the western tradition."—Harold Bloom"Greenberg has accomplished a magnificent literary feat. He has taken a great German work, until now all but inaccessible to English readers, and made it into a sparkling English poem, full of verve and wit. Greenberg's translation lives; it is done in a modern idiom but with respect for the original text; I found it a joy to read."—Irving Howe
£16.99
Spark The Merchant of Venice (No Fear Shakespeare):
Book SynopsisRead Shakespeare’s plays in all their brilliance—and understand what every word means! Don’t be intimidated by Shakespeare! These popular guides make the Bard’s plays accessible and enjoyable.Each No Fear guide contains: The complete text of the original play A line-by-line translation that puts the words into everyday language A complete list of characters, with descriptions Plenty of helpful commentary
£7.59
Spark Twelfth Night (No Fear Shakespeare): Volume 8
Book SynopsisRead Shakespeare’s plays in all their brilliance—and understand what every word means! Don’t be intimidated by Shakespeare! These popular guides make the Bard’s plays accessible and enjoyable.Each No Fear guide contains: The complete text of the original play A line-by-line translation that puts the words into everyday language A complete list of characters, with descriptions Plenty of helpful commentary
£7.59
Faber & Faber Waiting for Godot
Book SynopsisFrom an inauspicious beginning at the tiny Left Bank Theatre de Babylone in 1953, followed by bewilderment among American and British audiences, "Waiting for Godot" has become one of the most important and enigmatic plays of the past fifty years and a cornerstone of twentieth-century drama. As Clive Barnes wrote, "Time catches up with genius. . . . "Waiting for Godot" is one of the masterpieces of the century." The story revolves around two seemingly homeless men waiting for someone--or something--named Godot. Vladimir and Estragon wait near a tree, inhabiting a drama spun of their own consciousness. The result is a comical wordplay of poetry, dreamscapes, and nonsense, which has been interpreted as mankind's inexhaustible search for meaning. Beckett's language pioneered an expressionistic minimalism that captured the existential post- World War II Europe. His play remains one of the most magical and beautiful allegories of our time.
£9.49
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Anatomy of a Suicide
Book SynopsisAlice Birch's new play is scored like a piece of music ... It is an extraordinary echoing text, full of pain and strange beauty. The three stories play out simultaneously on stage, the dialogue from one scene overlapping with the other two in a manner that borders on the choral ... Birch has provided a text that explores these ideas in a formally invigorating way. The StageThree generations of women. For each, the chaos of what has come before brings with it a painful legacy.A powerful, unflinching look at a family afflicted with severe depression and mental illness. Presented as a triptych of plays performed side by side, this groundbreaking play reverberates with audiences and readers. Published for the first time in Methuen Drama''s Modern Classics series, this edition features a brand new introduction by Ava Davies.Trade ReviewWhat determines our character? Nature or nurture? Genetic inheritance or social environment? It is an age-old debate, and Alice Birch now adds to it with this startling theatrical triptych about three generations of mothers and daughters... Birch’s progress as a writer has been fascinating to watch... On the evidence so far, I would say Birch has a gift for radical experiment in the style of Caryl Churchill and Sarah Kane. In her new play we are confronted by three women, Carol, Anna and Bonnie, who we learn are mother, daughter and granddaughter. They exist in three different time zones but the story of their lives is told simultaneously. As Birch herself says, the text has been scored and can be read, or viewed, horizontally... I can, in fact, think of few exact parallels to this play. * Michael Billington, The Guardian *The way conversations overlap, intersect, even chime exactly, as if words are echoing down the decades, is a compositional marvel... [any] vague misgivings pale beside the essential bravery and daring of it all: anyone who has experienced the nightmare of handed-on familial sadness, let alone the horror of suicide, will surely find in this a therapeutic-cathartic release. * Telegraph *What a fiercely uncompromising, clinically emotional two hours this is Alice Birch, darling of the film world after her stark and powerful script for Lady Macbeth, returns in triumph to her home ground of the theatre for an unflinching examination of three generations of women in one family... an intricately interwoven work in which three separate scenes often play out simultaneously. * Evening Standard *
£11.69
Union Square & Co. Coriolanus
Book SynopsisThis guide helps make Shakespeare's play more accessible. It contains a complete text of the original work, along with a line-by-line modernisation and plenty of helpful commentary.
£7.59
Oxford University Press A Midsummer Nights Dream The Oxford Shakespeare
Book SynopsisA Midsummer Night's Dream is perhaps the best loved of Shakespeare's plays. It brings together aristocrats, workers, and fairies in a wood outside Athens, and from there the enchantment begins. In the introduction to this edition, Peter Holland pays particular attention to dreams and dreamers, and to Shakespeare's construction of a world of night and shadows. Both here and in his commentary he explores the play's extensive performance history to illustrate the wide range of interpretations of which it is capable.Trade ReviewThe commentary is admirably lucid and undogmatic on textual variants ... The introduction is of the kind that ponders and explores. Holland's method is to take each aspect or element of the play and consider it in the light of earlier traditions ... his critical position emerges unobtrusively but persuasively from the attested facts. * M.M. Mahoud, YES, 27, 1996 *
£7.59
Oxford University Press, USA Hysterical Laughter
Book SynopsisHysterical Laughter: Four Ancient Comedies about Women exhibits many of the interdisciplinary qualities that characterize teaching in the Classics. It is an innovative text that takes two important subfields of Classics-literature and gender studies-and brings them together into a new synthesis that provides instructors with a new and creative way to explore key issues into each of these disciplines. Instructors who teach courses in ancient comedy or drama are looking for ways to show students the social and cultural dimensions of theater. And instructors who teach courses on women or sexuality in the ancient world will want to use one of the most important sources we have from the classical world-comedy-as a way to show students how gender roles were constructed in ancient societies. There are many anthologies of Greek and Roman drama. There are many translations of say, Lysistrata, one of the most famous comedies of the ancient world. There are several books that examine women in antiquity. But Christenson''s is the first volume that uses a literary genre--comedy--as a vehicle to explore another field (women/gender/sexuality). The results are immensely creative and open up new teaching avenues for instructors. Christenson''s volume provides all new translations (all translated by Christenson) of four ancient comedies, two Greek and two Roman, that question classical stereotypes about women and challenge configurations of gender in ancient society. Lysistrata (Aristophanes), Samia (Menander), Casina (Plautus), and Hecyra (Terence)-each regarded as among the finest classical comedies-illustrate the possibilities of theater as an agent for gender awareness and expose traditional feminine roles in real life as social constructions, asking students to assess the cultural and historical position of theater in ancient society.Trade ReviewHysterical Laughter features four classic Greek and Roman plays - Lysistrata, Samia, Casina, and Hecyra each starring strong female characters. Each play is an excellent example of these great playwrights' work, and juxtaposing them brings out both similarities and differences in their ideas and their stagecraft. As the author demonstrates, each play challenges its society's ideas about women and gender roles, using hilarious comic techniques. The translations are close, but very lively, boldly including the originals' vulgarity and even obscenity; they ought to be staged as well as read. The introductions, informed by the latest scholarship, provide information about women in the ancient world and the original performance conditions; the notes are succinct and helpful, the bibliographies excellent. This book will be ideal in classical studies, history, theater, and women's studies classes. * Mary-Kay Gamel, University of California, Santa Cruz *Table of ContentsTable of Contents: ; About The Translator ; Preface ; Introduction ; DT Greek Old Comedy ; DT Greek New Comedy ; DT Roman Comedy ; DT Women In The Ancient World ; Aristophanes' Lysistrata ; Lysistrata ; Menader's Samia ; Samia. ; Plautus' Casina ; Casina ; Terence's Hecyra ; Hecyra ; Appendix: Olympian Deities
£26.99
CONNELL PUBLISHING LTD The Connell Guide To Shakespeare's Macbeth
Book SynopsisMacbeth may well be the most terrifying play in the English language, but it hasn’t always been seen that way. It has divided critics more deeply than any other Shakespearian tragedy – and the argument, in essence, has been about just how terrifying the play really is and about how we should react, or do react, to Macbeth himself. No Shakespearian tragedy gives as much attention to its hero as Macbeth. With the exception of Lady Macbeth, there is much less emphasis on the figures round the hero than there is in Hamlet or Othello. Unlike King Lear, with its parallel story of Gloucester and his sons, Macbeth has no sub-plot. And its imagery of sharp contrasts – of day and night, light and dark, innocent life and murder – adds to the almost claustrophobic intensity of this most intense of plays. So why are critics so divided about Macbeth? Why is it so disturbing? Why do we feel compelled to admire its hero even as we condemn him? How reassuring is the last scene, when Macbeth is killed and Malcolm becomes king? Do we see this as the intervention of a divine providence, a restoration of goodness after all the evil? Or do we see instead signs that the whole cycle of violence and murder could be about to begin all over again? And what does the play really tell us about good and evil? In this book Graham Bradshaw answers these questions, and shows how it is only in recent years that the extent of Shakespeare’s achievement in Macbeth, and the nature of his vision in the play, has really been grasped.
£8.54
Union Square & Co. King Lear No Fear Shakespeare Deluxe Student
Book SynopsisShakespeare everyone can understandnow in new DELUXE editions! Why fear Shakespeare? By placing the words of the original play next to line-by-line translations in plain English, these popular guides make Shakespeare accessible to everyone. They introduce Shakespeare's world, significant plot points, and the key players. And now they feature expanded literature guide sections that help students study smarter, along with links to bonus content on the Sparknotes.com website. A Q&A, guided analysis of significant literary devices, and review of the play give students all the tools necessary for understanding, discussing, and writing about King Lear. The expanded content includes:Five Key Questions: Five frequently asked questions about major moments and characters in the play. What Does the Ending Mean?: Is the ending sad, celebratory, ironic . . . or ambivalent? Plot Analysis: What is the play about? How is the story told, and what are the main themes? Why do the characters behav
£9.49
Orion Publishing Co The World of Shakespeare
Book Synopsis1000 PIECE PUZZLE: This 1000-piece puzzle features Shakespeare's London in glorious detail.CAST OF CHARACTERS: Spot famous characters, fellow writers and historical characters as you build the puzzle.INCLUDES PULL-OUT POSTER: Includes educational poster with fun facts about Shakespeare and his works. Piece together the world of Shakespeare in this art jigsaw puzzle depicting the London of his day. Spot a huge cast of contemporary extras as A Midsummer Night's Dream is rehearsed at the Globe and fellow actors wander the streets, along with local characters who may well have provided the Bard with inspiration. From lovers ascending ladders and bears being baited to tavern brawls and summer fetes, there is something to delight in every detail. Laurence King Publishing's ‘The World Of…’ jigsaws are a fun way of celebrating the lives and works of creative greats. Also available in
£16.19
Union Square & Co. Merchant of Venice No Fear Shakespeare Deluxe
Book SynopsisShakespeare everyone can understandnow in new DELUXE editions! Why fear Shakespeare? By placing the words of the original play next to line-by-line translations in plain English, these popular guides make Shakespeare accessible to everyone. They introduce Shakespeare's world, significant plot points, and the key players. And now they feature expanded literature guide sections that help students study smarter, along with links to bonus content on the Sparknotes.com website. A Q&A, guided analysis of significant literary devices, and review of the play give students all the tools necessary for understanding, discussing, and writing about Merchant of Venice. The expanded content includes:Five Key Questions: Five frequently asked questions about major moments and characters in the play. What Does the Ending Mean?: Is the ending sad, celebratory, ironic . . . or ambivalent? Plot Analysis: What is the play about? How is the story told, and what are the main themes? Why do the charact
£9.49
Union Square & Co. Othello No Fear Shakespeare Deluxe Student
Book SynopsisShakespeare everyone can understandnow in new DELUXE editions! Why fear Shakespeare? By placing the words of the original play next to line-by-line translations in plain English, these popular guides make Shakespeare accessible to everyone. They introduce Shakespeare's world, significant plot points, and the key players. And now they feature expanded literature guide sections that help students study smarter, along with links to bonus content on the Sparknotes.com website. A Q&A, guided analysis of significant literary devices, and review of the play give students all the tools necessary for understanding, discussing, and writing about Othello. The expanded content includes:Five Key Questions: Five frequently asked questions about major moments and characters in the play. What Does the Ending Mean?: Is the ending sad, celebratory, ironic . . . or ambivalent? Plot Analysis: What is the play about? How is the story told, and what are the main themes? Why do the characters behave
£9.49
Broadview Press Ltd Twelfth Night (1602,1623)
Book SynopsisTwelfth Night has seldom been off the stage since Shakespeare’s day. It has been performed for its romantic high comedy and its boisterous low comedy; with an emphasis on farce or on autumnal melancholy; as straightforward celebration of heterosexual love and marriage or as exploration of the complexity of gender. David Carnegie and Mark Houlahan’s introduction to the play provides a lively discussion of the play’s performance history and encourages readers to think about stagecraft and the play as a performance text, while the historical appendices provide materials that illuminate different thematic elements of the play. Extended notes interleaved throughout the play present relevant illustrations and expand on mythological, historical, and religious references in the play. The accompanying online text will offer additional commentary on staging alternatives and more extensive visual materials.A collaboration between Broadview Press and the Internet Shakespeare Editions project at the University of Victoria, the editions developed for this series have been comprehensively annotated and draw on the authoritative texts newly edited for the ISE. This innovative series allows readers to access extensive and reliable online resources linked to the print edition.Trade Review“Here is a text of Twelfth Night with a ‘broad view’ in more than name. There is, it seems, something for everyone in this edition, from the performer to the prosodist, and the pedant to the pupil. The edition is lavishly supplemented by other texts—some familiar, some surprising. Those appendices allow the reader to trace Twelfth Night’s narrative and intellectual affiliations, enabling the reader to track not just the play’s debts but its contribution to Renaissance preoccupations with music, friends, gender, and more. The text itself is amply illustrated, coherently lineated, and admirably glossed. In the notes, the reader will discover editors with a nuanced touch for performance. These are seasoned theatrical veterans with a deft ear for verse and a fine eye for staging possibilities. Used in synch with the internet Shakespeare’s on-line resources, this edition both takes and offers a broad view of Twelfth Night.” — Paul Menzer, Mary Baldwin CollegeTable of ContentsFOREWORDACKNOWLEDGEMENTSINTRODUCTIONSHAKESPEARE’S LIFESHAKESPEARE’S THEATREWILLIAM SHAKESPEARE: A BRIEF CHRONOLOGYA NOTE ON THE TEXTA NOTE ON THE MUSIC AND SONGSABBREVIATIONSTWELFTH NIGHT, OR WHAT YOU WILLAppendix A : SOURCES From Barnabe Riche, “Of Apollonius and Silla” (1581) From Gl’Ingannati—the Deceived (1531) Appendix B: RENAISSANCE SHIPWRECKS From Heliodorus, An Aethiopian History, trans. Thomas Underdowne (1587) From Sir Philip Sidney, The Countess of Pembroke’s Arcadia (1593) Appendix C: TWINS AND AFFINITY From Plautus, Menaechmi, trans. William Warner (1595) From William Shakespeare, The Comedy of Errors (c. 1593) From George Puttenham, “Hendiadys, or The Figure of Twins” (1589) From Michel de Montaigne, “Of Friendship,” trans. John Florio (1603) From Richard Brathwaite, The English Gentleman (1633) APPENDIX D: GENDER AND DISGUISE From Plato, The Symposium (c. 380 BCE) From John Lyly, Galatea (1592) William Shakespeare, Sonnet 20 (1609) From Stephen Gosson, Plays Confuted in Five Actions (1582) From Hic Mulier: Or, The Man-Woman (1620) APPENDIX E: MANNERS AND CODES From Baldassare Castiglione, The Book of the Courtier, trans. Sir Thomas Hoby (1561) From Giles Rose, A Perfect School of Instructions … (1682) From Henry Swinburne, A Treatise of Spousals, or Matrimonial Contracts (1686) APPENDIX F: FOOLS, FESTIVITY, AND MISRULE From Robert Armin, Fool upon Fool (1600) From Robert Armin, Quips upon Questions (1600) From Philip Stubbes, The Anatomy of Abuses (1583) From Thomas Nashe, Summer’s Last Will and Testament (1600) From Revels Office Documents on the Lord of Misrule (1551) From the Records of Corpus Christi College, Oxford (1566) From Shropshire Parish Documents (1556-1635) From Sir John Harington, “On the entertainment for the King of Denmark” (1606) From “King James, Declaration to the Bishop of Chester, 24 May 1618” From Sir Benjamin Rudyerd, Le Prince d’Amour: Or, The Prince of Love (1660) APPENDIX G: PURITANISM From The Pilgrimage to Parnassus (c. 1598-1602) From Thomas Nashe, The Return of the Renowned Cavaliero Pasquil of England (1589) From Thomas Nashe, Martin’s Month’s Mind (1589) From Thomas Nashe, A Countercuff Given to Martin Junior (1589) APPENDIX H: MUSIC From Marsilio Ficino, Commentary on Plato’s Symposium (1474) From Cicero, On the Commonwealth and on the Laws (c. 50 BCE) From Thomas Wright, The Passions of the Mind in General (1604) WORKS CITED AND BIBLIOGRAPHYFILMOGRAPHY
£16.16
CONNELL PUBLISHING LTD The Connell Guide To Shakespeare's Othello
Book Synopsis
£13.64
Faber & Faber The Pillowman
Book SynopsisThe first duty of a storyteller is to tell a story.' Or was it The only duty of a storyteller is to tell a story'?A writer in a totalitarian state is interrogated about the gruesome content of his short stories and their similarities to a number of child-murders that are happening in his town.''Sometimes you don''t even know what you''ve been craving until the real thing comes along.'' New York Times''McDonagh is more than just a very clever theatrical stylist. His tricks and turns have a purpose. They are bridges over a deep pit of sympathy and sorrow, illuminated by a tragic vision of stunted and frustrated lives.'' Fintan O''Toole, Irish TimesMartin McDonagh''s searingly brilliant play premiered at the National Theatre, London in November 2003. It was revived at the Duke of York's Theatre, London, in June 2023.
£10.44
Oxford University Press The Playboy of the Western World and Other Plays
Book SynopsisJ M Synge was one of the key dramatists in the flourishing world of Irish literature at the turn of the century. This volume offers all of Synge''s plays, which range from racy comedy to stark tragedy, all sharing a memorable lyricism. The introduction sets Synge''s work in the context of the Irish literary movement, with special attention to his role as one of the founders of the Abbey Theatre and his work alongside W. B. Yeats and Lady Gregory. Includes: Riders to the Sea; The Shadow of the Glen; The Tinker''s Wedding; The Well of the Saints; The Play of the Western World; Deirdre of the Sorrows ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World''s Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford''s commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.Table of ContentsRiders to the Sea ; The Shadow of the Glen ; The Tinker's Wedding ; The Well of the Saints ; The Playboy of the Western World ; Deirdre of the Sorrows
£7.59
Spark As You Like It
Book SynopsisNo Fear Shakespeare gives you the complete text of As You Like It on the left-hand page, side-by-side with an easy-to-understand translation on the right.
£7.59
HarperCollins Focus Shakespeare's Sonnets: The Complete Illustrated
Book SynopsisThe First-Ever, Fully Illustrated Collector's Edition of William Shakespeare's Celebrated Sonnets!In celebration of the momentous 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare's death in April 2016, this enhanced edition of Shakepeare's Sonnets features gorgeous full-color artwork throughout that brings The Bard's timeless words to life like never before!
£20.30
Oxford University Press Hamlet The Oxford Shakespeare
Book SynopsisTrade Reviewa dynamic, exciting, and thought-provoking work * Notes and Queries *it is bound in general to have considerable impact on our thinking about Hamlet (the text and the play) and deserves wide attention * Notes and Queries *level-headed, perspicuous treatment of the textual problems...It may be commended to students...Of the three recent Hamlets, this edition is the one I shall require students to buy. * T. H. Howard-Hill, Review English Studies *
£8.54
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Poems: Third Series
Book SynopsisIn 1593 Shakespeare awoke and found himself famous. Lines from his comic, erotic, tragic poem Venus and Adonis were on everyone's lips.The appearance in 1594 of the darkly reflective and richly descriptive Rape of Lucrece confirmed his fame as 'Sweet Master Shakespeare', Elizabethan England's most brilliant non-dramatic poet. Shorter poems in this volume testify further to Shakespeare's versatility and to his poetic fame. Some, like the much-debated 'Phoenix and Turtle', pose problems of meaning; others raise questions about authorship and authenticity. Detailed annotation and a full Introduction seek to resolve such difficulties while also locating Shakespeare's poems in their literary context, which includes his own career as a playwright.Trade Review'Shakespeare scholars will be indebted to the editors not only for fine textual and editorial work but also for a number of astute interpretations.' Project Muse (2009)
£9.99
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Cock
Book SynopsisThe fact is that some of us like women and some like men and that's fine that's good in fact that's good, a good thing, but it seems to me that you've become confused.John is happy in himself, and with his boyfriend, until one day he meets the woman of his dreams.In a world full of endless possibilities why must we still limit ourselves with labels? Mike Bartlett's razor sharp play about love and identity redefines the battle of the sexes as we know it.Cock premiered at the Royal Court Theatre, London, on 13 November 2009. This new and revised edition was published to coincide with the West End production in 2022, starring Jonathan Bailey, Taron Egerton and Jade Anouka.Trade ReviewA smart, prickly and rewarding view of sexual and emotional confusion . . . The writing is lubricious, sometimes grubby and in places savagely unpleasant. But it has a wounding authenticity. We laugh nervously, aware of its precision. * Evening Standard *Mike Bartlett has proved a devastatingly astute observer of adults behaving badly and this latest work is no exception . . . He is mercilessly accurate, wickedly funny and strangely touching. * Financial Times *
£15.60
Oxford University Press Othello The Oxford Shakespeare
Book SynopsisThe Oxford ShakespeareGeneral Editor: Stanley WellsThe Oxford Shakespeare offers authoritative texts from leading scholars in editions designed to interpret and illuminate the plays for modern readers- A new, modern-spelling text, collated and edited from all existing printings- Extensive introduction gives full attention to the play''s bold treatment of racial themes, gender, and social relations- Detailed performance history designed to meet the needs of theatre professionals- On-page commentary and notes explain language, word-play, and staging- Appendices on music in the play and a full translation of the Italian novella from which the story derives- Illustrated with production photographs and related art- Full index to introduction and commentary- Durable sewn binding for lasting use''not simply a better text but a new conception of Shakespeare. This is a major achievement of twentieth-century scholarship.'' ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World''s Classics has made avTrade Review...For the wealth of helpful material and stimulating ideas this is surely the most valuable edition of Shakespeare's disturbing and controversial tragedy available today. * Dieter Mehl, Archiv *The text of this edition is close to perfect * Eric Rasmussen *
£7.59
Spark King Lear (No Fear Shakespeare): Volume 6
Book SynopsisRead Shakespeare’s plays in all their brilliance—and understand what every word means! Don’t be intimidated by Shakespeare! These popular guides make the Bard’s plays accessible and enjoyable.Each No Fear guide contains: The complete text of the original play A line-by-line translation that puts the words into everyday language A complete list of characters, with descriptions Plenty of helpful commentary
£7.59
Spark Much Ado About Nothing
Book SynopsisNo Fear Shakespeare gives you the complete text of Much Ado About Nothing on the left-hand page, side-by-side with an easy-to-understand translation on the right.
£7.59
HarperCollins Publishers Hamlet
Book SynopsisHarperCollins is proud to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics.
£5.62
HarperCollins Publishers The Tempest Paperback
Book SynopsisHarperCollins is proud to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics.We are such stuffAs dreams are made on; and our little lifeIs rounded with a sleep.'Magical and dreamlike in its tone, Shakespeare's The Tempest begins with a storm of epic proportions and a shipwreck. Banished from Italy, Prospero lives on a remote island with his daughter. Using his magic, he vows to seek revenge on the injustice dealt to him by his brother, but in doing so, Shakespeare questions the difficulty of distinguishing men' from monsters', and the realities of justice.
£5.68
Cambridge University Press Othello
Book SynopsisThis third edition of Othello features a completely new, illustrated introduction, together with an updated commentary, notes and a revised reading list, providing students with a deep and up-to-date resource.Table of ContentsIntroduction; Note on the text; List of characters; The play; Supplementary notes; Textual analysis; Reading list.
£12.85
Faber & Faber Translations
Book SynopsisThe action takes place in late August 1833 at a hedge-school in the townland of Baile Beag, an Irish-speaking community in County Donegal. In a nearby field camps a recently arrived detachment of the Royal Engineers, making the first Ordnance Survey. For the purposes of cartography, the local Gaelic place names have to be recorded and rendered into English. In examining the effects of this operation on the lives of a small group, Brian Friel skilfully reveals the far-reaching personal and cultural effects of an action which is at first sight purely administrative.
£10.44
WW Norton & Co The Tempest
Book Synopsis
£11.99
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC King Richard III: Third Series
Book SynopsisRichard III is one of the great Shakespearean characters and roles. James R Siemon examines the attraction of this villain to audiences and focuses on how beguiling, even funny, he can be, especially in the earlier parts of the play. Siemon also places King Richard III in its historical context; as Elizabeth I had no heirs the issue of succession was a very real one for Shakespeare's audience. The introduction is well-illustrated and provides a comprehensive account of the play and of critical approaches to it. The edition also provides a clear and authoritative playtext, edited to the most rigorous standards of scholarship, with detailed notes and commentary on the same page. With a wealth of helpful and incisive commentary the Arden Shakespeare is the finest edition of Shakespeare you can find, giving a deeper understanding and appreciation of his work.Trade Review'There is much to admire about Siemon's labours here, and taken in its own edition is a fine resource for those wanting to read a well annotated text of the play or to go deeply into the performance and textual histories of the play...' Shakespeare Bookshop Newsletter (December 2009)
£9.99
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC The Comedy About a Bank Robbery Modern Plays
Book SynopsisI'm really looking forward to robbing this bank!Mischief's smash-and-grab hit The Comedy About A Bank Robbery is a fast, fabulous comedy caper and the funniest show in the West End! Summer 1958. Minneapolis City Bank has been entrusted with a priceless diamond. An escaped convict is dead set on pocketing the gem with the help of his screwball sidekick, trickster girlfriend and the maintenance man. With mistaken identities, love triangles and hidden agendas, even the most reputable can't be trusted. In a town where everyone's a crook, who will end up bagging the jewel?Written by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer and Henry Shields, the creators of the Olivier Award-winning Best New Comedy The Play That Goes Wrong and Peter Pan Goes Wrong, The Comedy About A Bank Robbery opened at the Criterion Theatre in London's West End in April 2016.The best new comedy to open straight into the West End in decades'Time OutThrilling and daringly inveTrade Review‘This is the funniest show in town’ * The Telegraph *Fast and fabulous comedy caper is a joyful night out * The Times *The team behind ‘The Play That Goes Wrong’ hit the funnybone again...The best new comedy to open straight into the West End in decades * Time Out *Thrilling and daringly inventive...This lung-bustingly funny play is just what the therapist ordered * The Guardian *
£10.99
Oxford University Press The Tragedy of King Richard III
Book SynopsisRichard III is one of Shakespeare''s most popular plays on the stage and has been adapted successfully for film. This new and innovative edition recognizes the play''s pre-eminence as a performance work: a perspective that informs every aspect of the editing. Challenging traditional practice, the text is based on the 1597 Quarto which, it is argued, brings us closest to the play as it would have been staged in Shakespeare''s theatre. The introduction, which is illustrated, explores the long performance history from Shakespeare''s time to the present. Its critical engagement with the play responds to recent historicist and gender-based approaches. The commentary gives detailed explication of matters of language, staging, text, and historical and cultural contexts, providing coverage that is both carefully balanced and alert to nuance of meaning. Documentation of the extensive textual variants is organized for maximum clarity: the readings of the Folio and the Quarto are presented in separate banks, and more specialist information is given at the back of the book. Appendices also include selected passages from the main source and a special index of actors and other theatrical personnel. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World''s Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford''s commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.Trade ReviewThis is far and away the finest critical edition of the play available * Eric Rasmussen, Shakespeare Survey *Table of ContentsLIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS; INTRODUCTION; EDITORIAL PROCEDURES; THE TRAGEDY OF KING RICHARD III; APPENDICES; INDEX
£7.59
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Twelve Angry Men
Book SynopsisThe Methuen Drama Student Edition of Twelve Angry Men is the first critical edition of Reginald Rose's play, providing the play text alongside commentary and notes geared towards student readers.In New York, 1954, a man is dead and the life of another is at stake. A ''guilty'' verdict seems a foregone conclusion, but one member of the jury has the will to probe more deeply into the evidence and the courage to confront the ignorance and prejudice of some of his fellow jurors. The conflict that follows is fierce and passionate, cutting straight to the heart of the issues of civil liberties and social justice. Ideal for the student reader, the accompanying pedagogical notes include elements such as an author chronology; plot summary; suggested further reading; explanatory endnotes; and questions for further study. The introduction discusses in detail the play''s origins as a 1954 American television play, Rose''s re-working of the piece for the stage, and Lumet''s 1957 film versiTrade ReviewIt's not hard to recognise contemporary universal parallels in Rose's play. . . . At the play's heart is a noble belief that truth, justice and the American way are still ideals to aspire to, however much they may sometimes be corrupted. * Herald *Reginald Rose's classic mid-20th-century American drama . . . built around the relentlessly powerful story of a lone juror in a New York murder case * Scotsman *Table of ContentsCHRONOLOGY PLOT COMMENTARY The television play (1954) The stage version (1955) The film version (1957) Genre Characters Social and political context Later productions and critical reception FURTHER READING PLAY TEXT NOTES QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY
£10.99
HarperCollins Publishers Inc Sex with Shakespeare
Book SynopsisA provocative, moving, kinky, and often absurdly funny memoir about Shakespeare, love, obsession, and spankingWhen it came to understanding love, a teenage Jillian Keenan had nothing to guide her—until a production of The Tempest sent Shakespeare’s language flowing through her blood for the first time.Trade Review"An English major's dream!...You may have studied Shakespeare in high school, but it's almost guaranteed that your literary analysis wasn't anything like this...The connection to Shakespeare is a fascinating foil for Keenan's life...[Her] writing is clear, relatable, and steady, even when conveying painful events in her past." -- Library Journal (starred review) "Visceral, funny, and perceptive, this startling and very personal take on Shakespeare is genuinely revealing-not only about the author, but even more about the plays. Keenan notices and responds to things that criticism on the whole ignores. An enjoyable and impressive book." -- Stephen Orgel, Ph.D., Jackson Eli Reynolds Professor in Humanities at Stanford University and author of Imagining Shakespeare "Moving and funny...Keenan's original takes on Shakespeare are just as fascinating and insightful as her takes on sex, lust, and love. Fans (kinky or not) of Shakespeare will love reading this book, and anyone directing Shakespeare should be required to read it." -- Dan Savage, columnist, "Savage Love," and author most recently of American Savage "Explicit and often harrowing...Keenan writes, she says, so others like her will not have to feel alone...By demonstrating the elasticity with which sexual undertones in Shakespeare can be read, she makes a case for a more expansive definition of sexual identity." -- Booklist "Keenan's excellent writing and humor make this a book enjoyable for fetishists and vanillas alike- especially if you like Shakespeare... A powerful tool in the growing arsenal of identity acceptance...This is an important book to have been written and to be read." -- AVclub.com "Keenan's intimate conversations with Shakespeare offer new and often startling insights into his plays. They are also deeply moving, and deeply courageous, challenging us to rethink sexuality in fundamental ways." -- Ania Loomba, Ph.D., Catherine Bryson Professor of English, University of Pennsylvania, and author of Shakespeare, Race, and Colonialism "Keenan serves up a smart, sexy cocktail of a memoir that is one part spanking fetish, another part Shakespeare, and goes down like a dirty martini that leaves the reader both shaken and stirred." -- Ian Kerner, Ph.D., author of She Comes First "A raunchy memoir revealing a visceral connection to the Bard." -- Kirkus "Jillian Keenan reveals how the revered playwright helped her come to terms with her sexual identity. Full of humor, her memoir explores the lessons she learned from the Bard, ranging from fetish to communication to love." -- Bustle.com "Insightful and refreshing...Keenan's mix of fearless and emotionally resonant personal revelations, cheeky (no pun intended) good humor, and deep literary knowledge make Sex with Shakespeare highly original and engaging." -- Karla Kane, Bitch Media "Shakespeare may seem like an unusual focus for a memoir about kink and sexual identity, but those who've really read his plays know they're full to the brim with raunch and innuendo...So Sex with Shakespeare makes perfect sense." -- Daily News "Honest as a diary, provocative as a dirty magazine...Keenan relates her struggles seamlessly to the ones faced by some of the Bard's most famous characters. This book is her journey to self-acceptance." -- Quartz.com "Funny and insightful...In Keenan's treatment of Shakespeare's plays, they become instruments of self-knowledge... By juxtaposing the plays and kink, Keenan frames sexual behaviour as performance- a performance that can be as much about language as about the body." -- National Post (Canada) "A true Shakespeare lover and connoisseur... [Keenan] interweaves her own personal experiences with plot lines from the Bard's works, creatively building tension and intrigue... Her perspective is provocative and fascinating." -- Bustle.com "If you: have ever been either bewitched or bewildered by Shakespeare's work...or are merely curious about sexuality; or enjoy personal essay as well as magical realism and literary criticism, then Jillian Keenan's Sex with Shakespeare is for you... a memoir that cannot be described with that label alone." -- Refinery 29 "Keenan is at her most confident. Her prose soars with a clarity of vision and purpose... Keenan writes a story of language and lust, and the pain of trying to get to that thing you want but you can't quite put into words." -- The New Republic "You'll laugh, you'll blush, and you'll never see Shakespeare quite the same way again-and we're pretty sure you'll also fall in love with Keenan's candor and wit...this is the perfect way to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the Bard's death." -- Bookish "Part examination of BDSM in Shakespeare (you'll rethink what you think you know about The Taming of the Shrew, I tell you what), part memoir of a woman whose sexuality is under-or-misrepresented in mainstream media. I was so fascinated, I read it in one sitting." -- Book Riot "If ever there was an ideal spanking ambassador for the kink-curious mainstream, it's Keenan... Writing publicly about something that most people don't dare to acknowledge even privately... is difficult and generous... What shines through is the story of a young woman looking to be made whole by love." -- New York Times "A rollicking memoir...[including] daring readings of Shakespeare, a lot of kink, and many, many laugh-out-loud funny moments...But along the way, Keenan also talks about more somber topics-including, centrally, child abuse...a highly charged issue, and one that Keenan is passionate about." -- The Establishment "Jillian Keenan's two obsessions: spanking and Shakespeare. You may think those two don't go together, but Keenan weaves them together to bring us a story about discovering your truest desires and what happens when you try to hide them." -- Popsugar.com "Keenan's memoir is an intellectual exploration of Shakespeare frosted with playful humor. It's the perfect vacation book: sexy, thrilling and insightful...a sublime summer beach read for anyone who enjoys smart writing about love, travel and sex." -- Mic.com
£9.99
Oxford University Press The Complete Sonnets and Poems The Oxford
Book SynopsisThe Oxford ShakespeareGeneral Editor Stanley WellsThe Oxford Shakespeare offers authoritative texts from leading scholars in editions designed to interpret and illuminate the works for modern readers- a new, modern-spelling text, collated and edited from all existing printings- on-page and facing-page commentary and notes explain language and allusions- detailed introductions consider the sonnets'' biographical and literary background, how the poems relate to the plays, dating and textual matters, and the mysteries of ''Mr W. H.'' and the ''Dark Lady''- includes poems attributed to Shakespeare in the seventeenth century- full index to introductions and commentary- durable sewn binding for lasting use''not simply a better text but a new conception of Shakespeare. This is a major achievement of twentieth-century scholarship.'' Times Literary Supplement ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World''s Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford''s commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.Trade ReviewA long and detailed critique, which ends with excellent praise 'This Complete Sonnets and Poems is a distinguished addition to a distinguished series. It will repay comtinuing study, and act as a valuable point of reference for readers concerned more generally with Shakespeare's art and language. Colin Burrow's good sense, tact and balance as an editor are deeply impressive.' * H.R.Woudhuysen, TLS *
£8.54
Oxford University Press Richard II The Oxford Shakespeare
Book SynopsisThis new edition of Richard II in the acclaimed Oxford Shakespeare series features a freshly edited version of the text, extensive commentary, lively illustrations, and a wide-ranging introduction covering the play's historical contexts, political significance, language, and stage history.Trade Reviewinvigorating and essential new edition * Times Literary Supplement *
£10.45
HarperCollins Publishers Twelfth Night
Book SynopsisHarperCollins is proud to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics.If music be the food of love, play on;Give me excess of it, that, surfeiting,The appetite may sicken, and so die.'A comedic romance of mistaken identity, Twelfth Night begins with a shipwreck, splitting up Viola and her twin brother, Sebastian. Alone in a strange land, Viola disguises herself as a male servant, Cesario, in order to work for the Duke Orsino. Orsino is in love with Lady Olivia, but it is Cesario that Olivia falls for. A farcical tale of misplaced love, confusion, gender-swapping and aspiration, Twelfth Night remains one of Shakespeare's best-loved and inventive comedies.
£5.02
Spark Henry IV Parts One and Two
Book SynopsisNo Fear Shakespeare gives you the complete text of Henry IV Part One and Two on the left-hand page, side-by-side with an easy-to-understand translation on the right.
£7.59
Spark Sonnets
Book SynopsisRead Shakespeare's sonnets in all their brillianceand understand what every word means! Don't be intimidated by Shakespeare! These popular guides make the Bard's sonnets accessible and enjoyable. This No Fear guide contains:The complete original textAline-by-line translation that puts the words into everyday languagePlenty of helpful commentary
£10.14
Cambridge University Press What Was Shakespeare Really Like
Book SynopsisSir Stanley Wells is one of the world''s greatest authorities on William Shakespeare. Here he brings a lifetime of learning and reflection to bear on some of the most tantalising questions about the poet and dramatist that there are. How did he think, feel, and work? What were his relationships like? What did he believe about death? What made him laugh? This freshly thought and immensely engaging study wrestles with fundamental debates concerning Shakespeare''s personality and life. The mysteries of how Shakespeare lived, whom and how he loved, how he worked, how he produced some of the greatest and most abidingly popular works in the history of world literature and drama, have fascinated readers for centuries. This concise, crystalline book conjures illuminating insights to reveal Shakespeare as he was. Wells brings the writer and dramatist alive, in all his fascinating humanity, for readers of today.Trade Review'It is, I think, incontestable to claim that no single person in history has done more for the study and appreciation of Shakespeare than Stanley Wells. This book asks four beguilingly simple questions which result in deeply fascinating and exciting journeys into Shakespeare's mind and practice. As you read, you are very likely to exclaim, as I did, 'Why the hell didn't my English teacher talk like this? Actors, directors, producers, lecturers, teachers, students, and all who want to know and understand more will hug this book to them.' Stephen Fry'If this book wasn't short I wouldn't trust it. There is very little to go on in trying to find Shakespeare the man, and Stanley Wells doesn't pad anything out with wishful speculation. Having studied his works for longer than any man alive he is almost uniquely placed to do this detective work. In his tenth decade Wells has lost none of his curiosity or his eagerness to share his intimate knowledge.' Harriet Walter'Stanley Wells illuminates and entertains – brilliant!' Kenneth Branagh'A truly excellent book – I enjoyed every page. I am sure it will be read with appreciation by all who care for Shakespeare, or are curious about the inner turmoil of his life.' Claire Tomalin'This illuminating compilation … helps separate the man from the myth.' Publishers Weekly'Wells is our pre-eminent Shakespearean, and here he reflects magisterially on the topic that has absorbed his life for seven decades … [His] book offers a readable, pacy and personal introduction to Shakespeare's works, and to Wells's own important role, part-Prospero, part-Puck, in their popularisation. And if you're still wondering: what Shakespeare was really like remains, happily, a mystery.' The Telegraph'Wells roots his picture of the playwright and poet in evidence and logic, and he's too erudite to be anything but modest in his conjectures - which is much the appeal of this book.' Jonathan Mandell, New York Theater'Stanley Wells, the nonagenarian dean of Shakespeare scholars, condenses decades of living with Shakespeare into What Was Shakespeare Really Like? … Commonsensical, easy-going, Mr. Wells wants to encounter Shakespeare as a personality.' The Wall Street Journal'Just as any production of a Shakespeare play reveals as much about its interpreters as its playwright, so Wells paints a portrait of himself alongside his subject. That the reader will still likely be glad of it is testament to the author's unwavering enthusiasm and insight.' Rory Kinnear, The Guardian'…secret, passionate urgings and scoldings were the seeds of [Shakespeare's] creativity. Professor Wells deserves a round of applause for bringing them into the light.' John Walsh, The Mail on SundayTable of ContentsForeword Stephen Fry; 1. What Manner of Man Was He?; 2. How Did Shakespeare Write a Play?; 3. What Do the Sonnets Tell Us about Their Author?; 4. What Made Shakespeare Laugh?; Epilogue: Eight Decades with Shakespeare.
£13.49
