Other books that might interest you

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  Sleeping Beauty (NHB Modern Plays)

  Rufus Norris

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  The classic tale of Sleeping Beauty's curse – as seen through the eyes of the fairy who curses her. Written by acclaimed director Rufus Norris for the Young Vic Theatre, London.
  Once upon a time there was a beautiful Princess who was loved by everyone. Well... almost everyone. Cursed by a wicked fairy, she pricks her finger and falls into a deep sleep.
  One hundred years later, a Prince wakes her with a kiss. But the Prince isn't as brave as he should be – and his mother's a bit of an ogress...
  Based on Perrault's 17th-century classic, Rufus Norris's Sleeping Beauty goes beyond the kiss into a perilous world of beastly shadows, nasty smells and a forest full of enchanted trouble.
  It was first performed at the Young Vic Theatre, London, in December 2002.
  'Outstanding... mixes the mythic and the macabre... What makes the show so dazzling is Norris' ability to appeal to children and adults alike. Kids around me seemed entranced, as I was, by the unfolding narrative' -  Guardian
  'Weird and wonderful... Rufus Norris' darkly and drolly imaginative version... Both direct and sophisticated, primal and glintingly allusive, this Sleeping Beauty continues the Young Vic's proud tradition of mounting the best Yuletide show in London' -  Independent

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  The Graduate

  Terry Johnson, Charles Webbe,...

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  An American classic adapted for the stage, starring Kathleen Turner as Mrs. Robinson and Matthew Rhys as Benjamin Braddock. A fresh-faced college grad returns home, diploma in hand, to seek an answer to that age old question: “Now what?” Lacking any clear career path, he falls prey to the original “cougar”, the predatory Mrs. Robinson, wife of his father's business partner. But it’s Mrs. Robinson’s daughter who captures his heart.Includes and interview with the star of The Graduate, screen legend Kathleen Turner.An L.A. Theatre Works full-cast performance featuring:Kathleen Turner as Mrs. RobinsonMatthew Rhys as Benjamin BraddockBruce Davison as Mr. BraddockJohn Getz as Mr. RobinsonJamison Jones as Hotel Clerk and othersDevon Sorvari as Elaine RobinsonLinda Purl as Mrs. Braddock and othersAdapted for the stage by Terry Johnson, based on the novel by Charles Webb and the screenplay by Calder Willingham and Buck Henry. Directed by John Rubinstein.  Recorded before a live audience at the Skirball Cultural Center, Los Angeles.

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  The Lord of the Isles

  Sir Walter Scott

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  In stunning narrative poetry, the story begins during the time when Robert Bruce, Earl of Carrick has been hunted out of Scotland into exile by the English and their allies. Bruce returns over sea from the Island of Rachrin: but is forced to land close to hostile forces at Artonish Castle on the seacoast of Argylshire. Seeking refuge from tempestuous seas, Bruce begs shelter from Ronald, Lord of the Isles: inadvertently on the day of his marriage feast to the beautiful Edith of Lorn.Bruce's very presence is enough to interrupt the nuptials and to break up the festivities: the guests quickly polarise into two armed and equally matched factions: one ready to raise Bruce to the Scottish crown, the other ready to slay him for desecration and murder. The combatants are dispersed with no bloodshed only by the combined offices of Lord Ronald himself, aided by a visiting Abbot: whereupon Bruce quickly removes himself to first the Island of Sky, and then Ayrshire: raising the an army willing to rout the English and re-establish Scottish independence.Bruce begins to win a steady stream of victories as his armies march inevitably towards Bannockburn. There, Bruce confronts Scotland's formidable enemy - led by the son of the Hammer of the Scots: the English outnumbering the Scots by more than two to one.- Can Bruce - the so-called fugitive, traitor, and turn-coat - succeed against the massed might of England?- Will the beautiful Edith choose to side with her blood-relations - who fight for England; or with Lord Ronald, her betrothed - who marches to battle behind Scotland's Bruce?(Introduction by Godsend)

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  Henry V (Argo Classics)

  William Shakespeare

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  William Collins Books and Decca Records are proud to present ARGO Classics, a historic catalogue of classic prose and verse read by some of the world’s most renowned voices. Originally released as vinyl records, these expertly remastered stories are now available to download for the first time. 
  ‘All things are ready, if our mind be so.’ 
  Henry V covers events during the Hundred Years' War, immediately before and after the Battle of Agincourt (1415). 
  After an insult from the French Dauphin, King Henry V of England invades France to claim the throne he believes should be his. Henry stops an assassination plot, gives powerful speeches, and wins battles against the odds. In the end, he woos and marries the Princess of France, linking the two nations. 
  All of the Shakespeare plays within the ARGO Classics catalogue are performed by the Marlowe Dramatic Society and Professional Players. The Marlowe was founded in 1907 with a mission to focus on effective delivery of verse, respect the integrity of texts, and rescue neglected plays by Shakespeare’s contemporaries and the less performed plays of Shakespeare himself. The Marlowe has performed annually at Cambridge Arts Theatre since its opening in 1936 and continues to produce some of the finest actors of their generations. 
  Thurston Dart, Professor of Music at London University and a Fellow of Jesus College Cambridge, directed the music for this production. 
  The full cast includes: William Squire; Gary Watson; Julian Curry; Ian McKellen; Denis McCarthy; John Tracy-Phillips; Peter Orr; Donald Beves; John Barton; John Perceval; Peter Foster; Giles Slaughter; David Rowe-Beddoe; Philip Strick; Trevor Nunn; Dudley Jones; Andrew Parkes; Michael Burrell; Tony Church; John Sharpe; Terrence Hardiman; Anthony White; George Rylands; John Tracy-Phillips; Derek Jacobi; Corin Redgrave; Frank Duncan; Corin Redgrave; Corin Redgrave; Roger Hammond; Frank Duncan; Suzanne Fuller; Micheline Samuels; Prunella Scales; Vivienne Chatterton. 
  The performance of Henry V by the Marlowe Dramatic Society and Professional Players is a testament to their mission of delivering verse effectively and preserving the integrity of texts. Their rendition of this classic European theatre piece is arguably one of the best. 
  For fans of Richard Parsons (GCSE English Shakespeare Text Guide), and Arthur Miller (Incident at Vichy).

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  The Poetry of Herman Merville

  Herman Melville

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  Herman Melville was born in New York City on August 1st, 1819, the third of eight children.   
   
  At the age of 7 Melville contracted scarlet fever which was to permanently diminish his eyesight.   
  At this time Melville was described as being "very backwards in speech and somewhat slow in comprehension." 
   
  His father died when he was 12 leaving the family in very straitened times. Just 14 Melville took a job in a bank paying $150 a year that he obtained via his uncle, Peter Gansevoort, who was one of the directors of the New York State Bank. 
   
  After a failed stint as a surveyor he signed on to go to sea and travelled across the Atlantic to Liverpool and then on further voyages to the Pacific on adventures which would soon become the architecture of his novels.  Whilst travelling he joined a mutiny, was jailed, fell in love with a South Pacific beauty and became known as a figure of opposition to the coercion of native Hawaiians to the Christian religion.   
   
  He drew from these experiences in his books Typee, Omoo, and White-Jacket. These were published as novels, the first initially in London in 1846. 
   
  By 1851 his masterpiece, Moby Dick, was ready to be published.  It is perhaps, and certainly at the time, one of the most ambitious novels ever written.   However, it never sold out its initial print run of 3,000 and Melville’s earnings on this masterpiece were a mere $556.37. 
   
  In succeeding years his reputation waned and he found life increasingly difficult.  His family was growing, now four children, and a stable income was essential.   
   
  With his finances in a disappointing state Melville took the advice of friends that a change in career was called for.  For many others public lecturing had proved very rewarding.  From late 1857 to 1860, Melville embarked upon three lecture tours, where he spoke mainly on Roman statuary and sightseeing in Rome.  
   
  In 1876 he was at last able to publish privately his 16,000 line epic poem Clarel. It was to no avail.  The book had an initial printing of 350 copies, but sales failed miserably. 
   
  On December 31st, 1885 Melville was at last able to retire.  His wife had inherited several small legacies and provide them with a reasonable income. 
   
  Herman Melville, novelist, poet, short story writer and essayist, died at his home on September 28rh 1891 from cardiovascular disease.

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  On the Subject of Fallen Things

  James Kearns

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  "you start every new day with an inventory: a moth, a cape, a parachute, a coffin, a gun, the wall you built to mount the gun."
  On the Subject of Fallen Things is an addictive, Chekhovian metanarrative: phenomenological, absurd, and dripping with black humour. James Kearns' speaker keeps company with Lazarus, an inept psychic, and a deceased superhero, but finds himself increasingly alone—lost in dialogue with mortality, both personal and anthropological. Permanence, culpability, the function and corruption of human storytelling: all come into play in a surge of momentum that grips the reader, even as it breaks apart: a lean explosion, a gunshot in the distance.
  "On the Subject of Fallen Things weaves whimsy into narrative epiphanies that you never see coming. Each line aggregating weight like the lightness of snowflakes gathering into an avalanche. Hugely enjoyable. Get it now." Roger Robinson, A Portable Paradise, Winner of the 2019 T.S. Eliot Prize
  "This is a really brilliant sequence of poems. Like Ponge, or Herbert, or Steger, or Simic, it manages to be both serious and fleeting, weighty and funny. It's hopeful, actually." S.J. Fowler, 3:AM Magazine

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