This complete and unabridged collection of Shakespeare’s 37 plays, performed by The Marlowe Dramatic Society and Professional Players, plus all of the 154 Sonnets combined with the 4 narrative poems comes together to create an ultimate collection in one boxset. The recordings feature celebrated actors such as Sir John Gielgud, Richard Pasco, Dame Prunella Scales, Sir Ian McKellen, Sir Trevor Nunn, Oscar winner Dame Peggy Ashcroft, Patrick Wymarck, and more. ORIGINAL REVIEWS: Beautifully read, the music of the verse becomes explicit. – NEW YORK TIMES The job could hardly have been done better. – THE OBSERVER Argo’s fine series of complete Shakespeare recordings with the Marlowe Society has now firmly established the highest of standards. – THE GUARDIAN A great memorial to the greatest of playwrights. – NEW YORK HERALD TRIBUNE I regard it as an important triumph for the study of English verse that the director has been able to represent its actual structure. – NEW STATESMAN CONTENTS: All 37 plays spread over 93 discs 2 discs containing all 154 Sonnets 5 discs dedicated to the 4 narrative poems Dedicated website with additional information First edition certification 225 pages booklet includes: Foreword and historically accurate background notes edited by Professor Gordon McMullan, Kings College Article on the history of the Argo Shakespeare Recordings by Dr Tony Wakeford Historical content, photographs and press reviews from the original release. Full cast list for each play Synopsis of each play PERSONNEL: The Marlowe Society is one of Cambridge’s oldest and most prestigious drama societies. Since its creation in 1907, the society has had a profound influence on British theatre, both by producing some of the country’s most renowned actors and directors – including, among others, Trevor Nunn, Peter Hall, Derek Jacobi and Ian McKellen – and by redefining the relationship between modern dramatists and early modern verse. Professor Gordon McMullan specialises in Shakespeare and early modern theatre and culture. He is a general textual editor of the Norton Shakespeare and a general editor of Arden Early Modern Drama. He also co-runs the London Shakespeare Seminar and is a longstanding member of the steering committee of the London Renaissance Seminar. The MA in Shakespeare Studies, taught jointly with Shakespeare’s Globe, created and convened by McMullan, celebrated its first decade in 2010. McMullan is a founding member of the London Shakespeare Centre, launched at King’s in 2009. SHAKESPEARE400: Shakespeare400 is a season of cultural and artistic events in 2016, celebrating four hundred years of Shakespeare, his creative achievement and his profound influence on creative culture across the centuries. It is the collective endeavour of a consortium of leading cultural, creative and educational institutions in and around London, working closely together to express the impact of Shakespearean creativity on a wide range of artistic forms. The season includes theatre, music, opera, dance, exhibitions and a range of educational events to help new audiences engage with Shakespeare’s work. The season is designed to demonstrate the ongoing vibrancy of Shakespeare’s creative influence in national and global culture. The Shakespeare400 partners include some of the best of London’s and the UK’s creative and cultural sector: Barbican, Birmingham Royal Ballet, Bloomsbury Publishing / The Arden Shakespeare, British Film Institute, British Library, City of London, City of London Festival, Film London, Glyndebourne, Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Hogarth Shakespeare, London Philharmonic Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Museum of London, Museum of London Archaeology, National Theatre, Rambert, Royal Collection Trust, Royal Opera House, Royal Shakespeare Company, Royal Society of Literature, Senate House Library, Shakespeare's Globe and The National Archives. The season is coordinated by King’s College London, with academics from the university’s London Shakespeare Centre contributing their literary-critical, historical, dramaturgical and curatorial knowledge. Together, the consortium partners seek both to reflect on four centuries of Shakespeare-inspired creativity across all art forms and to look forward to the next hundred years in the global life of Shakespeare’s plays and poems. 37 Plays All’s Well That Ends Well A Midsummer Night’s Dream As You Like It Love’s Labour’s Lost Measure for Measure Much Ado About Nothing Pericles The Comedy of Errors The Merchant of Venice The Merry Wives of Windsor The Taming of The Shrew The Tempest The Two Gentlemen of Verona The Winter’s Tale Twelfth Night Henry IV Part 1 Henry IV Part 2 Henry V Henry VI Part 1 Henry VI Part 2 Henry VI Part Henry VIII King John Richard II Richard III Antony and Coriolanus Cymbeline Hamlet Julius Caesar King Lear Macbeth Othello Romeo & Juliet Timon of Athens Titus Andronicus Troilus and Cressida All 154 Sonnets 4 Narrative Poems A Lover’s Complaint The Phoenix and The Turtle The Rape of Lucrece Venus and Adonis
M**N
AN VERY IMPRESSIVE COLLECTION OF THESE GREAT PLAYS
I am very impressed with the presentation of this set even though it did cost me a lot more to get hold of it. I think it is well worth the extra price I paid for it. I had tried to buy it when it first came out but they said it was then unavailable. I then looked to see if it was and it was but as a much higher price, the price then went up and down and so that it why I had to pay a lot more for it.I remember these recordings from years back when I first started collecting Shakespeare on cassette. I actually have quite a few of these great recordings still on cassette which I will keep and cherish but it is nice to finally have the full set of them which I am looking forward to listening to. Some I have recorded onto CD but most I haven't been able to so like I said it's great to have them all at my finger tips.I am most impressed with the packing and also the booklet to. Also the artwork on the sleeves for each of the plays is very impressive to. The only thing I wont do is to keep them in there cardboard wallets, as I don't think that is very good for them. So I'm going to get myself some proper binders to keep them in I think but of course I will keep the box booklet, certificate and the cardboard sleeves to.To anyone interested in Shakespeare I would highly recommend this set to them as I am sure like me you will get hours and hours of enjoyment out of it.
E**S
Priceless! One of the greatest achievements of the gramophone era.
Impossible to overstate the value of these wonderful recordings. Like others, I've spent years hunting down what remains of the Argo catalogue on LP and cassette and writing frantic letters to Decca begging for these superlative performances to be made available again to students. The Marlowe Society under Ryland's oversight was the cradle of the Royal Shakespeare Company. Many of the actors on these discs became household names but what distinguishes these performances is Rylands' mastery of how verse drama works: the actors know these plays inside out, understand what they are reading and are alert to every rhythmic subtlety, every change of pace... well, most of the time. Although at times, delivery could be brisker, the contrast with the sloppy, poorly spoken and too often uninformed performances of the current RSC could hardly be greater. Everyone here has superb diction and is committed to bringing Shakespeare to life by scrupulouslyrespecting the language, the movement of the verse. The texts are uncut, there is the minimum of fuss or special effects. It's Shakespeare as he was writ: plays for voices.It's criminal that these recordings have been locked away by Decca for years: the times I've wanted students to hear a play they were studying! Let's hope Decca will now reissue the complete Argo English Poetry recordings made about the same time for the British Council and featuring many of the great actors who appear on these discs. Tony Church's magnificent readings of Milton, for example, and Redgrave's delivery of Hopkins as nobody has done him since! Recordings like these are what engaged many of us in the study of English Literature!Five stars are a feeble indication of the importance of this set.
B**G
A superb reissue which is worthy of the original Argo Shakespeare project.
I agree with the five-star reviews above. It's great to have this excellent set after years of hunting down the vinyl box-sets with only partial success. The verse speaking is the way it used to be in theatre and even on screen. It's not naturalistic but it has a majesty which matches the power of the text.One footnote on the versions included in the box:Othello, Julius Caesar, Richard II and As You Like It are the 1957 mono recordings. However the cast list given in the booklet (p.137) for Richard II is that of the 1972 Richard Pasco version. In each case the 1972 Wragg artwork has been reproduced on the sleeves rather than the original artwork. [ALL NOW FIXED IN THE DOWNLOADABLE PDF BOOKLET - SEE COMMENT ATTACHED TO THIS REVIEW]Additional download content has yet to be posted on the Decca site but perhaps that will include the missing stereo versions of these four plays and the four early Wragg artworks. The Amazon description says the box includes a "CD ROM [with extended booklet PDF including critical analysis]" but I can't see one in my box set.I would also like to see more of the Argo spoken-word catalogue reissued in this way or at least for CD-quality download with the Wragg artwork attached.
M**A
Shakespeare The Complete Works Argo Records
Well done Decca for Re releasing these gems onto CD for the first ever time, beautifully restored the sound is for its age fantastic. They are historical recording of all The Complete Works of Shakespeare, I received my limited numbered box today and what a wealth of pure joy. Its a must for anyone who loves the spoken word, Argo Records were key on this, One hopes further Argo recordings will see the light of day once more, well worth the money.
K**M
Very Happy!!
Exquisitely read by professional players, faithfully re-mastered by outstanding staffs!I'm very happy to secure this perfect box-set of legendary spoken-Shakespeare transferred onto 100 CDs. A school boy in a rural area of Japan knew that the argo LP recordings of NEW SHAKESPEARE were admirably released between 1950s and 1960s. After fifty years... He is now an old man to listen to still vivid performances.
M**G
Fantastic
No Shakespeare fan should be without this brilliant set
A**E
Delights and joys, ere the leviathan swim a league...
I am very glad that I purchased this fine collection, its many merits described more than adequately by the other reviewers.
M**E
Excellent
Very well packaged and presented as described in the short advertising video..a real gem of a collection.
K**L
zo kostbaar
moest ik moeten gaan vluchten voor een overstroming of zo ,dan dit één van de kostbare dingen die ik zou meenemen
A**R
Fantastic set...if yours arrives without mishap.
5 stars for what this is supposed to be, 3 stars for what I received.....the book had several pages placed up-side-down and several pages loose. I'm going to try to exchange. DAMMIT!! But if one overlooks this mishap, the entire box is gorgeous. The book is very well done (when not in the state I got it). Every CD slipcase is beautiful. I did Macbeth.....very well done in a "businesslike" sort of way. Not overly dramatic, but very committed to the text. This is an absolute treasure-trove. But I want that book to be right.
M**E
Venus and Adonis notes
The booklet says that the producers of the set were not able to locate a copy of the notes for Venus and Adonis. My LP set has a copy of the notes as a one-page insert (as opposed to being inside the front and/or back covers). My copy of the CD set, which arrived today, is currently where I work. I'll check tomorrow and see if there is any contact information for the producers, as I would be happy to share the notes with them in case they want to distribute them in some fashion or other. If anybody knows how to put the producers and me in touch with each other, please send the contact information to me by way of a comment to this "review." Thanks...
J**O
Quality and quantity way beyond expectation
It's hard to find recordings of many Shakespeare works like Venus and Adonis. So being able to hear an unabridged version is already worth a lot. But I was more than surprised and happy at the quality of the readings. Professional production and skilled performance. No forced emotion; just focused and committed reading with complete expertise with verse speaking. Worth every penny to be able to hear these. The narrative poems like V&A are read dramatically in that the various characters' speeches are assigned to appropriate voices.
P**N
It's A Winner!
If you want to spend your time listening to a great playwright 's lines read by great actors, then treat yourself to this set.
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