Product Description

Following the success of "The Essential Shakespeare", the British Library and the Royal Shakespeare Company are proud to present a second audio set of live Shakespeare recordings, "Essential Shakespeare Encore". The two discs feature scenes and speeches taken from RSC productions in Stratford-upon- Avon and London, recorded by the British Library and the RSC over a period of almost half a century. As in the first volume, all the recordings are being published for the first time. The extracts, chosen by RSC Chief Associate Director Gregory Doran, are taken from productions that were not included previously, so as to complement the first volume. The roll-call of prestigious portrayals runs from Paul Robeson's legendary Othello in 1959 to David Tennant's highly-acclaimed Hamlet in 2008. Among the other memorable productions are Peter Hall's "Henry IV Part 1", Trevor Nunn's "The Winter's Tale", John Barton's "The Merchant of Venice", Adrian Noble's "Macbeth", Sam Mendes' "Troilus and Cressida" and the recent "Histories Cycle" of Michael Boyd. Notable actors include Ian Holm, David Suchet, Juliet Stevenson, Ian Richardson, Jonathan Pryce, Ralph Fiennes, Simon Russell Beale, Harriet Walter, Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #13167 in Books
• Published on: 2009-10-01
• Format: Audiobook
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Audio CD
• 16 pages

Customer Reviews

Re-living memories
This second collection of recordings from productions by the Royal Shakespeare Company includes two absolute gems: one of the Paul Robeson 'Othello' but particularly of the 1964 'Henry IV Part 1'. This was certainly the greatest production I have ever seen of what I believe is Shakespeare's finest play containing his greatest literary creation. The casting was absolutely first class: Eric Porter, Ian Holm, Roy Dotrice, Janet Suzman, Clive Morton, Clive Swift, William Squire, above of course the indomitable Hugh Griffith, whose Falstaff was unforgettable. For this extract alone, this 2 CD set is highly recommended.

The Essential Shakespeare Live Encore

I found this item disappointing as many of the speeches were spoiled by audience and other character noises i.e. movement on stage. Too frequently the microphone seemed too far away from the actor speaking. It is appreciated that these are live recordings, but could have been improved by either toning down or removing the audience laughter and noise.

Paul Robeson seemed to be the only actor whose voice was suffiently strong and carried over the audience to hear the Shakespeare words to full effect.