Customer Reviews

All the World's a Stage: An Anthology of Shakespearean Speeches

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I tried a BBC Royal Shakespeare Company CD once; it was like listening to a Monty Python parody. This thing is calm and measured, but with Gielgud, Burton, Olivier, et al., it's hardly too calm and measured. Some people complain about lack of context, others about the little musical intros. I don't mind these things at all, and if I did, they would be outweighed by the listen-ability of the thing.

Someone used the word snippet to describe what is included in this production; it is a good term. So, snippet it is; but what has been included gives no introduction, no explanation, no explication, no nothing. The tape is of different bits of Shakespeare's plays which run rapidly into each other. To get any fair use out of this work the listener needs to sit with a printed copy of the complete works sitting on his or her lap otherwise the whole exercise is meaningless. Shakespeare requires understanding what is being said in context. This tape would be better served if it included a brief introduction regarding which play the snippet came from and how the dialog ties in with the action. Without this information only those who have read all the plays will not be lost. There are not many who can claim that background. So, as a stand-alone audio, for most of us, this tape is a sad waste.