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Much Ado about Nothing
The Arkangel Shakespeare Collection (Related to this series)
- Author
- William Shakespeare
- Narrator
- various
- Publisher
- Arkangel
- Publish Date
- 15 January 2006
- Run Time
- 2 hours 8 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
What to expect
Young Claudio has fallen for the lovely heiress Hero, who also loves him. Their path to the altar looks smooth, until the evil Don John intervenes.
All ends happily, thanks to his incompetent assassins and the lucky discoveries of the bungling constable Dogberry. Central to the play, one of Shakespeare's best-loved comedies, are Beatrice and Benedick, masters of wit and sworn foes to marriage—until a plot is hatched to bring them together.
Beatrice is played by Saskia Reeves, while Samuel West plays Benedick. Paul Jesson is Don Pedro, Jason O'Mara is Claudio, and Abigail Docherty is Hero. Dogberry is played by Bryan Pringle.
Critics Review
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“Much Ado about Nothing focuses on two love affairs, the rivalry between the reluctant Beatrice and the confirmed bachelor Benedick, and the more serious courtship between Hero and Claudio. The former is one of the wittiest romantic conflicts in dramatic literature; the latter narrowly avoids catastrophe by means of a necessary, if contrived, manipulation of the plot to achieve a happy ending.”
Masterpieces of World Literature
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“The play takes an ancient them—that of a woman falsely accused of unfaithfulness—to brilliant comedic heights. In this play, Shakespeare eschewed devices of obvious magic or disguise of sex, which he employed in other comedies; the wit and ambiguity of the dialogue and the exquisite pacing of the action sustain the play, which remains popular in repertory.”
Merriam Webster’s Encyclopedia of Literature
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“The influence of Beatrice and Benedick was felt in the Restoration comedy of manners, whose competitive loving couples similarly disguise their true affection by verbal combat.”
The Cambridge Guide to Literature in English
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“Expertly performed by a full cast of seasoned British film and stage actors. Saskia Reeves’s Beatrice is wily and bewitching. Bryan Pringle’s blundering Dogberry brings depth and comedic presence to this finely tuned production. The period music in the background is intercut smoothly with realistic sound effects, making listening akin to a live theatrical experience.”
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Details
- Author
- William Shakespeare
- Narrator
- various
- Duration
- 2 hours 8 minutes
- Release Date
- 15 January 2006
- ISBN
- 9781572708969
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- Arkangel
- Genre
- Classic and pre-20th century plays, Fiction: general and literary, Classic fiction, Plays, playscripts
Synopsis
Young Claudio has fallen for the lovely heiress Hero, who also loves him. Their path to the altar looks smooth, until the evil Don John intervenes. All ends happily, thanks to his incompetent assassins and the lucky discoveries of the bungling constable Dogberry. Central to the play, one of Shakespeare's best-loved comedies, are Beatrice and Benedick, masters of wit and sworn foes to marriage—until a plot is hatched to bring them together.Beatrice is played by Saskia Reeves, while Samuel West plays Benedick. Paul Jesson is Don Pedro, Jason O'Mara is Claudio, and Abigail Docherty is Hero. Dogberry is played by Bryan Pringle.
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