DRAMA · ENGLISH
Dympna Callaghan
Also known as: Dympna C. Callaghan
Enter SAMPSON and GREGORY, with swords and bucklers.
— from Romeo and Juliet
Most acclaimed
Romeo and Juliet
One of Shakespeare's most popular and accessible plays, Romeo and Juliet tells the story of two star-crossed lovers and the unhappy fate that befell them as a result of a long and bitter feud between their families. The play contains some of Shakespeare's most beautiful and lyrical love poetry and is perhaps the finest celebration of the joys of young love ever written. Shakespeare's use of his poetic dramatic structure, especially effects such as switching between comedy and tragedy to heighten tension, his expansion of minor characters, and his use of sub-plots to embellish the story, has been praised as an early sign of his dramatic skill. The play ascribes different poetic forms to different characters, sometimes changing the form as the character develops.
Antony and Cleopatra
Passion, politics, love and death combine in a novel of the legendary love triangle between the three leaders of the Roman era: Cleopatra, Mark Antony and Octavian, from the bestselling author of The Thorn BirdsMark Antony, famous warrior and legendary lover, expected that he would be Julius Caesar's successor. But after Caesar's murder it was his 18-year old nephew, Octavian, who was named in the will. No-one, least of all Antony, expected him to last but his youth and slight frame concealed a remarkable determination and a clear strategic sense. Antony was the leader of the fabulously rich East. Barely into his campaigning, he met Cleopatra, Pharaoh of Egypt. Bereft by the loss of Julius Caesar, her lover, father of her only son, she saw Antony as another Roman who could support her and provide more heirs. His fascination for her, his sense that she knew the way forward where he had lost his, led to the beginning of their passionate, and very public affair. The two men, twin rulers of Rome, might have found a way to live with each other but not with Cleopatra between them. This is a truly epic story of power and scandal, battle and passion, political spin and inexorable fate with a rich historical background and a remarkable cast of characters, all brought brilliantly to life by Colleen McCullough. It is hard to leave the world she has created.
Hamlet
This Handbook's central commentary leads the reader through Hamlet's text, noting what it requires from its actors and the choices they are offered. Attention is also paid to plot and dramatic structure, the changing activity and grouping of persons on stage, and variations of pace. An account is given of early editions, the theatrical conditions of early performances, and the social, political and cultural context of the time, with generous quotations from contemporary writings. Notable productions and performances are described and a variety of critics cited to offer a number of different ways to understand the play's achievements and significance.