Classics Performance

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.

Introduce your child to Old Testament stories through this audiobook, where each story is performed by a full cast of voice actors and narrated by Ian Cullen. This audio adventure uses sound effects and straightforward performances to bring Bible stories like Noah's Ark, David and Goliath, and Jonah and the Whale to life.

Bassiano, a noble Venetian, hopes to woo the beautiful heiress Portia. However, he requires financial assistance from his friend Antonio. Antonio agrees, but he, in turn, must borrow from the Jewish moneylender Shylock. As recourse for past ills, Shylock stipulates that the forfeit on the loan must be a pound of Antonio’s flesh. In the most renowned onstage law scene of all time, Portia proves herself one of Shakespeare’s most cunning heroines, disguising herself as a lawyer and vanquishing Shylock’s claims....

Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales is one of the most influential pieces of writing in the British literary cannon. It helped to establish English, rather than Latin or Norman French, as an acceptable language for literature. It was also one of the earliest pieces of work to have story linking - what had previously been just collected writings which the author deemed interesting.

Songs of a Sourdough is the first published volume of verse from the man who would become "The Bard of the Yukon", Robert W. Service. This volume contains 33 verses exploring characters, landscapes, and life in the early days on Canada's last frontier. From the hardships to the humanity, and from harlots to the heart, Service's work breaks trail to a new way to look at Klondike.

Jealous conspirators convince Caesar's friend Brutus to join their assassination plot against Caesar. To stop Caesar from gaining too much power, Brutus and the conspirators kill him on the Ides of March. Mark Antony drives the conspirators out of Rome and fights them in a battle. Brutus and his friend Cassius lose and kill themselves, leaving Antony to rule in Rome.

From basic training to World War II to the Gulf War, America's veterans share their funniest stories in this collection of Reader's Digest's popular "Humor in Uniform" column. Beneath the horror of war lies a rich tradition of comedy and satire, and these anecdotes have entertained fans for decades.

A classical collection of recitations by the master narrator Zia Mohyeddin. Volume 14 includes: 1) "Ghazal" by Mirza Ghali; 2) Shahid Ahmad Dhlavi; 3) Mirza Ghalib; 4) Intizar Hussain; 5) Khawaja Hasan Nizamii; 6) Angrezi Mazahia; 7) Alama Iqbal; 8) Ibn e Insha; 9) Ayub Khawer; 10) Mustaq Ahmed Yusufi; 11) Nazm Noon Meem Rashid.

Kaiser Napoleon Bonaparte, seit einem Jahr auf die Insel Elba verbannt, plant seine Rückkehr nach Frankreich und den Sturz König Ludwigs XVIII. Vor diesem historischen Hintergrund vollzieht sich das abenteuerliche Schicksal des jungen Kapitäns Edmond Dantès, der infolge eines teuflischen Intrigenspiels zu lebenslänglichem Kerker verurteilt wird. Nach 18 endlosen Jahren gelingt ihm die Flucht aus der Festung Chateau d'If, und er gelangt auf wunderbare Weise in den Besitz sagenhafter Reichtümer.

King Cymbeline of Britain banishes his daughter Imogen's husband, who then makes a bet on Imogen's fidelity. Imogen is accused of being unfaithful, runs away and becomes a page for the Roman army as it invades Britain. In the end, Imogen clears her name, discovers her long-lost brothers and reunites with her husband while Cymbeline makes peace with Rome.

After Henry V's death and while Henry VI is young, nobles rule England and fight the French, including Joan of Arc. As Henry VI becomes king, the noble houses begin to divide and take sides between York and Lancaster. The war with France winds down, and the nobles try to find Henry a wife and disagree about who Henry chooses.

How do any of us really know who we are? A man arrives in a strange town only to find that everyone knows his name, but thinks he’s someone else. A woman wonders why her husband is not the man he was, but starts to rather like it. Confusion mounts as everyone uncouples from themselves. Will they ever find themselves again? And do they really want to?

A fascinating four-volume collection from the private journals of four distinguished historical figures, presented in a dramatised setting.

As humans, we often wonder about our heroes’ (and, perhaps, our enemies’) opinions on the most assorted of topics. Mark Twain’s speech “Cigars and Tobacco” serves to satiate such curiosities. In it, he details his storied history with those two substances and his search for the “worst cigar in the New York Market.” It’s a brief treat for anyone who’s ever wondered about Twain’s tobacco consumption, or simply wants to read some miscellaneous wit from this literary master.

The Roman General Titus Andronicus returns from war with four prisoners who vow to take revenge against him. They rape and mutilate Titus' daughter and have his sons killed and banished. Titus kills two of them and cooks them into a pie, which he serves to their mother before killing her, too. The Roman emperor kills Titus, and Titus' last remaining son kills the emperor and takes his place.

The ghost of the king of Denmark tells his son Hamlet to avenge his murder by killing the new king, Hamlet's uncle. Hamlet feigns madness, contemplates life and death and seeks revenge. His uncle, fearing for his life, also devises plots to kill Hamlet. The play ends with a duel, during which the king, queen, Hamlet's opponent and Hamlet himself are all killed.

Natalya just returned from Yalta, Crimea, and is telling her husband over dinner of all the charms of Crimea. Her husband, delighted, gazes tenderly at her enthusiastic face, listens, and from time to time puts in a question. Natalya's never-ceasing babble gets her into serious trouble, however. She is eager to expose her friend Yulia for some indiscretion with a local guide, and this leads to revelations of Natalya's own 'gay' times with one of the Tatar guides.

The Only Jealousy of Emer is one of Yeat's five famous Cúchulainn pieces and is written with heavy stylistic influences from the Japanese Noh theatre. Readers Paula Bauersmith, Gerald E. McGonagill, and John McLiam are accompanied by The Lou Harrison Ensemble.

Adaptation littéraire de "Gargantua" de Rabelais pour petits et grands enfants. La voix de Jean-Pierre Cassel et la musique de Jean Françaix nous plongent dans un somptueux carpe diem en hommage au géant Rabelais. Gargantua, fils de Grandgosier, a été porté pendant onze mois par sa mère Gargamelle avant de naître par son oreille. Dès sa naissance, le nouveau-né est assoiffé. Comme il réclame sans cesse à boire et n'est jamais rassasié, son père lui donnera un prénom gargantuesque.

The Rape of Lucrece is a brilliant, brutal narrative poem giving an account of the terrible crime of rape and its dreadful consequences for victim and perpetrator. As ever, though, Shakespeare goes beyond the obvious, following the ramifications of the crime wherever they take him, shining a light on a band of human behaviour encompassing the bestial and the beautiful.