Random House New Releases - Drama - British & Irish - Between June 19, 2012 and July 19, 2013.

Antony and Cleopatra by William Shakespeare

2013-07-10T00:30:00-05:00

Antony and Cleopatra
Written by William Shakespeare

A magnificent drama of love and war, this riveting tragedy presents one of Shakespeare's greatest female characters—the seductive, cunning Egyptian queen Cleopatra. The Roman leader Mark Antony, a virtual prisoner of his passion for her, is a man torn between pleasure and virtue, between sensual indolence and duty . . . between an empire and love. Bold, rich, and splendid in its setting and emotions, Antony And Cleopatra ranks among Shakespeare's supreme achievements.

Othello by David Scott Kastan

2013-07-10T00:30:00-05:00

Othello
Written by William Shakespeare
Edited by David Bevington and David Scott Kastan

Though this great tragedy of unsurpassed intensity and emotion is played out against Renaissance splendor, its story of the doomed marriage of a Venetian senator’s daughter, Desdemona, to a Moorish general, Othello, is especially relevant to modern audiences. The differences in race and background create an initial tension that allows the horrifyingly envious villain Iago methodically to promote the “green-eyed monster” jealousy, until, in one of the most deeply moving scenes in theatrical history, the noble Moor destroys the woman he loves–only to discover too late that she was innocent.

Each Edition Includes:
• Comprehensive explanatory notes
• Vivid introductions and the most up-to-date scholarship
• Clear, modernized spelling and punctuation, enabling contemporary readers to understand the Elizabethan English
• Completely updated, detailed bibliographies and performance histories
• An interpretive essay on film adaptations of the play, along with an extensive filmography

Richard III by William Shakespeare

2013-07-03T00:30:00-05:00

Richard III
Written by William Shakespeare

An exciting new edition of the complete works of Shakespeare with these features: Illustrated with photographs from New York Shakespeare Festival productions, vivid readable readable introductions for each play by noted scholar David Bevington, a lively personal foreword by Joseph Papp, an insightful essay on the play in performance, modern spelling and pronunciation, up-to-date annotated bibliographies, and convenient listing of key passages.

Hamlet by David Scott Kastan

2013-06-12T00:30:00-05:00

Hamlet
Written by William Shakespeare
Edited by David Bevington and David Scott Kastan

One of the greatest plays of all time, the compelling tragedy of the tormented young prince of Denmark continues to capture the imaginations of modern audiences worldwide. Confronted with evidence that his uncle murdered his father, and with his mother’s infidelity, Hamlet must find a means of reconciling his longing for oblivion with his duty as avenger. The ghost, Hamlet’s feigned madness, Ophelia’s death and burial, the play within a play, the “closet scene” in which Hamlet accuses his mother of complicity in murder, and breathtaking swordplay are just some of the elements that make Hamlet an enduring masterpiece of the theater.

Each Edition Includes:
• Comprehensive explanatory notes
• Vivid introductions and the most up-to-date scholarship
• Clear, modernized spelling and punctuation, enabling contemporary readers to understand the Elizabethan English
• Completely updated, detailed bibliographies and performance histories
• An interpretive essay on film adaptations of the play, along with an extensive filmography

From the Paperback edition.

King Lear by David Scott Kastan

2013-06-12T00:30:00-05:00

King Lear
Written by William Shakespeare
Edited by David Bevington and David Scott Kastan

A king foolishly divides his kingdom between his scheming two oldest daughters and estranges himself from the daughter who loves him. So begins this profoundly moving and disturbing tragedy that, perhaps more than any other work in literature, challenges the notion of a coherent and just universe. The king and others pay dearly for their shortcomings–as madness, murder, and the anguish of insight and forgiveness that arrive too late combine to make this an all-embracing tragedy of evil and suffering.

Each Edition Includes:
• Comprehensive explanatory notes
• Vivid introductions and the most up-to-date scholarship
• Clear, modernized spelling and punctuation, enabling contemporary readers to understand the Elizabethan English
• Completely updated, detailed bibliographies and performance histories
• An interpretive essay on film adaptations of the play, along with an extensive filmography

Macbeth by David Scott Kastan

2013-06-12T00:30:00-05:00

Macbeth
Written by William Shakespeare
Edited by David Bevington and David Scott Kastan

No dramatist has ever seen with more frightening clarity into the heart and mind of a murderer than has Shakespeare in this compelling tragedy of evil. Taunted into asserting his “masculinity” by his ambitious wife, Macbeth chooses to embrace the Weird Sisters’ prophecy and kill his king–and thus, seals his own doom. Fast-moving and bloody, this drama has the extraordinary energy that derives from a brilliant plot replete with treachery and murder, and from Shakespeare’s compelling portrait of the ultimate battle between a mind and its own guilt.

Each Edition Includes:
• Comprehensive explanatory notes
• Vivid introductions and the most up-to-date scholarship
• Clear, modernized spelling and punctuation, enabling contemporary readers to understand the Elizabethan English
• Completely updated, detailed bibliographies and performance histories
• An interpretive essay on film adaptations of the play, along with an extensive filmography

A Midsummer Night's Dream by David Scott Kastan

2013-06-05T00:30:00-05:00

A Midsummer Night's Dream
Written by William Shakespeare
Edited by David Bevington and David Scott Kastan

Magic, love spells, and an enchanted wood provide the materials for one of Shakespeare’s most delightful comedies. When four young lovers, fleeing the Athenian law and their own mismatched rivalries, take to the forest of Athens, their lives become entangled with a feud between the King and Queen of the Fairies. Some Athenian tradesmen, rehearsing a play for the forthcoming wedding of Duke Theseus and his bride, Hippolyta, unintentionally add to the hilarity. The result is a marvelous mix-up of desire and enchantment, merriment and farce, all touched by Shakespeare’s inimitable vision of the intriguing relationship between art and life, dreams and the waking world.

Each Edition Includes:
• Comprehensive explanatory notes
• Vivid introductions and the most up-to-date scholarship
• Clear, modernized spelling and punctuation, enabling contemporary readers to understand the Elizabethan English
• Completely updated, detailed bibliographies and performance histories
• An interpretive essay on film adaptations of the play, along with an extensive filmography

From the Paperback edition.

Richard II by William Shakespeare

2013-05-08T00:30:00-05:00

Richard II
Written by William Shakespeare

eBook, 304 pages | Bantam Classics | Drama - British & Irish | $6.99 | May 8, 2013 | 978-0-307-41615-5 (0-307-41615-1)

This moving and eloquent historical drama depicts the conflict between a willful and arrogant poet of a king, Richard II, and his politically pragmatic cousin, Bolingbroke. Rich with memorable scenes and speeches, this lyrical history moves from a splendid medieval tournament to the poignant surrender of a crown; from the queen’s heart-shattering farewell to her king to Richard’s murder—a deed “chronicled in hell” that lives forever as one of the great moments in theater.

The Tempest by William Shakespeare

2013-05-01T00:30:00-05:00

The Tempest
Written by William Shakespeare

eBook, 240 pages | Bantam Classics | Drama - British & Irish | $4.99 | May 1, 2013 | 978-0-307-80861-5 (0-307-80861-0)

This joyous play, the last comedy of Shakespeare's career, sums up his stagecraft with a display of seemingly effortless skill. Prospero, exiled Duke of Milan, living on an enchanted island, has the opportunity to punish and forgive his enemies when he raises a tempest that drives them ashore—as well as to forestall a rebellion, to arrange the meeting of his daughter, Miranda, with an eminently suitable young prince, and, more important, to relinquish his magic powers in recognition of his advancing age. Richly filled with music and magic, romance and comedy, the play's theme of love and reconciliation offers a splendid feast for the senses and the heart.

The Wakefield Mystery Plays by Martial Rose

2012-09-19T00:30:00-05:00

The Wakefield Mystery Plays
Written by Martial Rose

Four hundred years ago the medieval mystery plays, presented each year in various English villages to teach the stories of the Bible to the illiterate population, were the great classic English dramas. Queen Elizabeth I banned these plays because she considered them Roman Catholic, and since then the texts have been available only to scholars.

In this volume, Martial Rose has restored the most dramatic collection of these plays—the cycle presented annually by the town of Wakefield—to the modern reader in complete, acting versions of the original text, with notes on their production and staging.

The thirty-two plays of the Wakefield cycle, written during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, go from the Creation to the Last Judgement, covering every important event in the Old and New Testaments. The anonymous authors, it is now clear, had not only a deep dedication to their subject, but also a keen sense of the theatre. Humor, horror, and sharp earthly details are mingled with admonitions to the audience and religious devotion. The plays are both lively and moving in their own right, and important links in the history of drama.

Random House New Releases - Drama - British & Irish - Between June 19, 2012 and July 19, 2013.

Antony and Cleopatra by William Shakespeare

Antony and Cleopatra Written by William Shakespeare

Othello by David Scott Kastan

Othello Written by William Shakespeare Edited by David Bevington and David Scott Kastan

Richard III by William Shakespeare

Richard III Written by William Shakespeare

Hamlet by David Scott Kastan

Hamlet Written by William Shakespeare Edited by David Bevington and David Scott Kastan

King Lear by David Scott Kastan

King Lear Written by William Shakespeare Edited by David Bevington and David Scott Kastan

Macbeth by David Scott Kastan

Macbeth Written by William Shakespeare Edited by David Bevington and David Scott Kastan

A Midsummer Night's Dream by David Scott Kastan

A Midsummer Night's Dream Written by William Shakespeare Edited by David Bevington and David Scott Kastan

Richard II by William Shakespeare

Richard II Written by William Shakespeare

The Tempest by William Shakespeare

The Tempest Written by William Shakespeare

The Wakefield Mystery Plays by Martial Rose

The Wakefield Mystery Plays Written by Martial Rose

Antony and Cleopatra
Written by William Shakespeare

Othello
Written by William Shakespeare
Edited by David Bevington and David Scott Kastan

Richard III
Written by William Shakespeare

Hamlet
Written by William Shakespeare
Edited by David Bevington and David Scott Kastan

King Lear
Written by William Shakespeare
Edited by David Bevington and David Scott Kastan

Macbeth
Written by William Shakespeare
Edited by David Bevington and David Scott Kastan

A Midsummer Night's Dream
Written by William Shakespeare
Edited by David Bevington and David Scott Kastan

Richard II
Written by William Shakespeare

The Tempest
Written by William Shakespeare

The Wakefield Mystery Plays
Written by Martial Rose