William Shakespeare

'Fair is foul and foul is fair' - so said three weird women in ghoulish glee, predicting a subversion of order in fair Scotland... In the reign of King Duncan, Scotland is a just and hospitable land, with loyal, warlike thanes guarding the best interests of people......'Till the very best among them, Macbeth, gives in to a fatal temptation and commits regicide. But will the crown of Scotland sit easy on his head? Will justice be restored to Scotland? Or will Macbeth remain invincible? One of Shakespeare's most famous plays, "Macbeth" goes beyond a mere tragedy of moral order to a deeply psychological study of a mind preyed on by ambition, insecurities, fear, and regret.

"I see two husbands, or mine eyes deceive me." --The Comedy of Errors Eminent Shakespearean scholars Jonathan Bate and Eric Rasmussen provide a fresh new edition of this raucous story of mistaken identity and family--along with more than a hundred pages of exclusive features, including - an original Introduction to The Comedy of Errors - incisive scene-by-scene synopsis and analysis with vital facts about the work - commentary on past and current productions based on interviews with leading directors, actors, and designers - photographs of key RSC productions - an overview of Shakespeare's theatrical career and chronology of his plays Ideal for students, theater professionals, and general readers, these modern and accessible editions from the Royal Shakespeare Company set a new standard in Shakespearean literature for the twenty-first century.

A consummate romantic comedy that dramatises the battle of the sexes with a dazzling display of Shakespeare's wit and wordplay. Two young lovers, Claudio and Hero, are about to be married, but the devious scheming of a resentful Prince looks set to thwart the nuptials. Meanwhile, marriage seems inconceivable for reluctant lovers Beatrice and Benedick, whose constant witty sparring threatens to keep them apart for ever. The official tie-in edition published alongside the 2011 production at Wyndham's Theatre, London, starring David Tennant as Benedick and Catherine Tate as Beatrice. In addition to the version of Shakespeare's text as performed in the production, this volume also includes extensive material about how the production was conceived and developed, interviews with its cast and creative team, design sketches, an extract from the original score, and a rehearsal diary.

Set in the heat and dust of Andalusia in seventeenth-century Spain, Cardenio is the story of a friendship betrayed, with all the elements of a thriller: disguise, dishonour and deceit. A woman is seduced, a bride is forced to the altar, and a man runs mad among the mountains of the Sierra Morena. The history of the play is every bit as thrilling, and this text is the result of a masterful act of literary archaeology by the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Chief Associate Director Gregory Doran, to re-imagine a previously lost play by Shakespeare. Based on an episode in Cervantes’ Don Quixote, the play known as Cardenio by Shakespeare and John Fletcher was performed at court in 1612. A copy of their collaboration has never been found; however, it is claimed that Double Falshood by Lewis Theobald is an eighteenth-century adaptation of it. Since Theobald’s play misses out some crucial scenes in the plot, Doran has turned to the Cervantes original to supply the missing episodes, using the original English translation by Thomas Shelton (1612) that Fletcher and Shakespeare must themselves have read. Cardenio re-opened the Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, as part of the Royal Shakespeare Company's fiftieth birthday season in 2011.