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King Lear: With An Introduction And Notes... (El Libro De Bolsillo Alianza Editorial Ser. #Vol. 767)
by William Shakespeare George Hunter Kiernan RyanAn ageing king makes a capricious decision to divide his realm among his three daughters according to the love they express for him. When the youngest daughter refuses to take part in this charade, she is banished, leaving the king dependent on her manipulative and untrustworthy sisters. In the scheming and recriminations that follow, not only does the king's own sanity crumble, but the stability of the realm itself is also threatened.
Pericles: With The Story Of The Prince Of Tyre... .
by William Shakespeare Eugene GiddensPericles, Prince of Tyre, must solve a riddle in order to marry the daughter of the King of Antioch, or be put to death. But when the answer reveals a horrific secret, the young man faces his greatest dilemma. Danger and adventure follow as Pericles flees the city to find his fortune elsewhere, in a romantic drama of families lost and reunited, evil punished and virtue rewarded.
Pygmalion: (pdf)
by George Bernard Shaw Nicholas Grene Dan H. LaurencePygmalion both delighted and scandalized its first audiences in 1914. A brilliantly witty reworking of the classical tale of the sculptor who falls in love with his perfect female statue, it is also a barbed attack on the British class system and a statement of Shaw's feminist views. In Shaw's hands, the phoneticist Henry Higgins is the Pygmalion figure who believes he can transform Eliza Doolittle, a cockney flower girl, into a duchess at ease in polite society. The one thing he overlooks is that his 'creation' has a mind of her own.
Antigone: Complete Teacher's Kit (Dian Classical Texts Ser. #Vol. 2)
by Sophocles'It's a dreadful thing to yield...but resist now?Lay my pride bare to the blows of ruin?That's dreadful too.'The remarkable story of Greek tragedy's most intrepid heroine.Introducing Little Black Classics: 80 books for Penguin's 80th birthday. Little Black Classics celebrate the huge range and diversity of Penguin Classics, with books from around the world and across many centuries. They take us from a balloon ride over Victorian London to a garden of blossom in Japan, from Tierra del Fuego to 16th-century California and the Russian steppe. Here are stories lyrical and savage; poems epic and intimate; essays satirical and inspirational; and ideas that have shaped the lives of millions.Sophocles (496 BC-406 BC). Sophocles's works available in Penguin Classics are The Theban Plays and Electra and Other Plays.
Lady Windermere's Fan: A Play About A Good Woman - Primary Source Edition (Timeless Classics Ser.)
by Oscar WildeBeautiful, aristocratic, an adored wife and young mother, Lady Windermere is 'a fascinating puritan' whose severe moral code leads her to the brink of social suicide. The only one who can save her is the mysterious Mrs Erlynne whose scandalous relationship with Lord Windermere has prompted her fatal impulse. And Mrs Erlynne has a secret - a secret Lady windermere must never know if she is to retain her peace of mind.
The Duchess of Malfi, The White Devil, The Broken Heart and 'Tis Pity She's a Whore: with The White Devil, The Broken Heart and 'Tis Pity She's a Whore
by John Ford John Webster Jane Kingsley-SmithThese four plays, written during the reigns of James I and Charles I, took revenge tragedy in dark and ambiguous new directions. In The Duchess of Malfi and The White Devil, John Webster explores the role of women and the problems of power, sex and corruption in the Italian court, creating two unforgettable anti-heroines. In The Broken Heart, John Ford questions the value of emotional repression as his characters attempt to subdue their desires and hatreds in ancient Greece. Finally, Ford's masterpiece 'Tis Pity She's a Whore explores the taboo theme of incest and forbidden lust in a daring reworking of Romeo and Juliet.Jane Kingsley-Smith has edited the plays from the earliest quartos and added invaluable editorial material, including explanatory glosses and a new introduction that discusses how the playwrights explored issues around women, sex, power and violence.JOHN WEBSTER was born in about 1578 in London. He studied law at the Middle Temple before embarking on a career in the theatre, collaborating on many plays with contemporary dramatists. But it was his two solo-authored tragedies, The White Devil (1612) and The Duchess of Malfi (1614), which sealed his reputation. He died in the 1630s.JOHN FORD was born in 1586 in Devon. His early career was wholly concerned with poetry and philosophical works, and it was not until the 1620s that he began collaborating on stage plays. In the late 1620s, he began writing alone, producing the eight plays on which his reputation would be based, including The Broken Heart (1620) and 'Tis Pity She's a Whore (c.1630). Nothing more is known of Ford after the performance of his last play in 1638. JANE KINGSLEY-SMITH completed her PhD at the Shakespeare Institute, Stratford-upon-Avon and is the author of two monographs: Shakespeare's Drama of Exile (2003) and Cupid in Early Modern Literature and Culture (2010). She is a Reader at Roehampton University, London, and a regular guest speaker at Shakespeare's Globe.
Four French Plays: Cinna, The Misanthrope, Andromache, Phaedra
by Jean RacineThe 'greatest hits' of French classical theatre, in vivid and acclaimed new Penguin translations by John Edmunds and with editorial apparatus by Joseph Harris.The plays in this volume - Cinna, The Misanthrope, Andromache and Phaedra - span only thirty-seven years, but make up the defining period of French theatre. In Corneille's Cinna (1640), absolute power is explored in ancient Rome, while Molière's The Misanthrope (1666), the only comedy in this collection, sees its anti-hero outcast for his refusal to conform to social conventions. Here also are two key plays by Racine: Andromache (1667), recounting the tragedy of Hector's widow after the Trojan War, and Phaedre (1677), showing a mother crossing the bounds of love with her son.This translation of Phaedra was originally broadcast on Radio Three with a cast including Prunella Scales and Timothy West, and was praised by playwright Harold Pinter. This is the first time it has been published. The edition also includes an introduction by Joseph Harris, genealogical tables, pronunciation guides, critiques and prefaces, as well as a chronology and suggested further reading.After a varied career as an actor, teacher, and BBC TV national newsreader, John Edmunds became the founder-director of Aberystwyth University's department of Theatre, Film and Television Studies. Joseph Harris is Senior Lecturer at Royal Holloway, University of London and author of Hidden Agendas: Cross-Dressing in Seventeenth-Century France (2005).
Charlie And The Chocolate Factory: The Play (PDF)
by Richard George Roald DahlRoald Dahl's much-loved story, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, about how Charlie Bucket wins a ticket to visit Willy Wonka's amazing chocolate factory is turned into a play for children to act. With tips about scenery, props and lighting, the play is easy to stage and there are lots of parts for everyone.
Summerlost
by Ally CondieSummer will never be the same again for Cedar. Desperate to outrun their grief, her family move to their mother's hometown for the long holiday. Despite the change of scene, Cedar can't escape her memories, and then strange gifts start to appear in the night as if by magic. When Leo appears, everything changes. Together, Cedar and Leo explore the town of Iron Creek and find a twenty-year-old mystery they might have the key to solving. Along the way, they discover the power of friendship to mend a broken heart.Infused with emotion and rich with understanding, Summerlost is the touching new novel from Ally Condie, the international bestselling author of the Matched series that highlights the strength of family and personal resilience in the face of tragedy.
The Witches: Plays for Children
by Roald Dahl David WoodFun-to-perform plays for the classroom.A collection of seven short playlets following the story of Roald Dahl's book in sequence. Some are for three or four actors and a couple are ideal for performance by a whole class. Full of humour, excitement and magic and true to the spirit of Dahl's work.Similar in format to The Twits and The BFG: Plays for Children.Adapted by David Wood, well-known in children's theatre (most recently for Goodnight Mister Tom).
Titus Andronicus: With The Trve Tragedie Of Richard The Third .
by Jacques Berthoud William ShakespeareAn embittered Roman General returns from war, having captured the Queen of the Goths and her three sons. Sacrificing the eldest, in memory of his own sons killed in battle, he provokes the queen's unending hatred. And when she is made empress by the new emperor of Rome, she quickly begins to plot a murderous revenge of barely conceivable cruelty.
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
by Tennessee WilliamsA sizzling drama of desire, avarice and deception set in the American Deep South.'Big Daddy' Pollitt, the richest cotton planter in the Mississippi Delta, is about to celebrate his sixty-fifth birthday. His two sons have returned home for the occasion: Gooper, his wife and children, Brick, an ageing football hero who has turned to drink, and his feisty wife Maggie.As the hot summer evening unfolds, the veneer of happy family life and Southern gentility gradually slips away as unpleasant truths emerge and greed, lies, jealousy and suppressed sexuality threaten to reach boiling point.
The Caucasian Chalk Circle (PDF)
by Bertolt Brecht Eric BentleyThe play is a parable inspired by the Chinese play Chalk Circle. Written at the close of World War II, the story is set in the Caucasus mountains of Georgia, and retells the tale of King Solomon and a child claimed by two mothers. A chalk circle is metaphorically drawn around a society misdirected in its priorities. Brecht's statements about class are cloaked in the innocence of a fable that whispers insistently to the audience.
Equus (Penguin Modern Classics Ser. (PDF))
by Peter ShafferSelf-consciously staging itself in the psychotherapy sessions of a disturbed young man, Peter Shaffer's Equus is a shocking exploration of the limits of faith, of the intersecting worlds of the sacred and profane, and of the paltry value of a 'mundane' life, published in Penguin Modern Classics. When a deranged boy, Alan Strang, blinds six horses with a metal spike he is sentenced to psychiatric treatment. Dr Dysart is the man given the task of uncovering what happened the night Strang committed his crime, but in doing so will open up his own wounds. Dysart struggles in secret to define sanity, to justify his marriage, to account for his career, and finds himself questioning the 'normality' of his way of life. Ultimately, he must ask himself: is it patient or psychiatrist whose life is being laid bare? The most shocking play of its day, Equus uses an act of violence to explore faith, insanity and how the materialism of modern life can destroy humanity's capacity for pain and passion. Peter Shaffer (b. 1926), born in Liverpool, is an English playwright. Among his plays are The Salt Land (1954), Equus (1973) which won Shaffer the 1975 Tony Award for Best Play, as well as the New York Drama Critics Circle Award and Amadeus (1979) which won the Evening Standard Drama Award and the Theatre Critics Award for the London production, as well as being adapted into a 1984 film starring F. Murray Abraham and Simon Callow. If you enjoyed Equus, you might like Tennessee Williams's A Streetcar Named Desire, also available in Penguin Modern Classics. 'Sensationally good' Guardian 'A very important play' The New York Times
The Theban Plays (Penguin Classics): (pdf)
by Sophocles E. F. Watling (Translator Introduction‘O Light! May I never look on you again, Revealed as I am, sinful in my begetting, Sinful in marriage, sinful in shedding of blood!’ The legends surrounding the royal house of Thebes inspired Sophocles (496–406 BC) to create a powerful trilogy of mankind’s struggle against fate. King Oedipus tells of a man who brings pestilence to Thebes for crimes he does not realise he has committed, and then inflicts a brutal punishment upon himself. With profound insights into the human condition, it is a devastating portrayal of a ruler brought down by his own oath. Oedipus at Colonus provides a fitting conclusion to the life of the aged and blinded king, while Antigone depicts the fall of the next generation, through the conflict between a young woman ruled by her conscience and a king too confident in his own authority. E. F. Watling’s masterful translation is accompanied by an introduction, which examines the central themes of the plays, the role of the Chorus, and the traditions and staging of Greek tragedy. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
The Crucible: A Play In Four Acts (Modern Classics Ser.)
by Arthur MillerArthur Miller's classic parable of mass hysteria draws a chilling parallel between the Salem witch-hunt of 1692 - 'one of the strangest and most awful chapters in human history' - and the McCarthyism which gripped America in the 1950s. The story of how the small community of Salem is stirred into madness by superstition, paranoia and malice, culminating in a violent climax, is a savage attack on the evils of mindless persecution and the terrifying power of false accusations.
Under Milk Wood: Images By Peter Blake (Collins Classics)
by null Dylan ThomasHarperCollins is proud to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics. We are not wholly bad or good, who live our lives under Milk Wood. On a dark moonless night in spring, the seaside town of Llareggub sleeps. Dreams of hope and heartache unfurl, revealing the innermost desires and fears of its inhabitants. But when morning arrives, the chaotic muddle of everyday life begins again: the hardships, the gossip, the quarrels, the moments of tenderness and love, all intertwined in a spectacular chorus of voices. A much loved and celebrated modern classic, Dylan Thomas originally wrote Under Milk Wood as a radio drama and it was first broadcast by the BBC in 1954. Since then, Thomas’s masterful and humorous depiction of his characters continues to entertain and resonate with readers today.
Leslie F*cking Jones: A Memoir
by Leslie Jones"You are Black; you are female," Leslie Jones' father once said. "But if you work harder and you're better than everybody else, they can't f*cking deny you."
Sing Me Forgotten
by Jessica S. Olson‘Lush and lavish, Sing Me Forgotten hit all the right notes’ Erin A. Craig, New York Times bestselling author of House of Salt and Sorrow
The Mirror and the Light: Rsc Stage Adaptation
by Hilary Mantel Ben MilesHilary Mantel and Ben Miles’ exhilerating stage adaptation of The Mirror and the Light, one of 2021’s must-see theatrical events, and the long awaited conclusion to the Oliver Award-winning Wolf Hall Trilogy.
Woke Up This Morning: The Definitive Oral History Of The Sopranos
by Steve Schirripa Michael ImperioliWho made the phone call that got HBO to launch the show? What’s the significance of all those eggs? And, what the hell ever happened to the Russian? In Woke Up This Morning, Michael Imperioli and Steve Schirripa have all the answers – and they’re revealing where all the bodies are buried.
Pygmalion (Collins Classics)
by George Bernard ShawHarperCollins is proud to present its incredible range of best-loved, essential classics.
My Broken Language: A Memoir
by Quiara Alegría Hudes“Quiara Hudes is in her own league. Her sentences will take your breath away. How lucky we are to have her telling our stories.” – Lin-Manuel Miranda