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Title: Shakespeare: His Life & Work by Richard Hampton, David Weston, Judi Dench, Timothy West ISBN: 1-57270-179-X Publisher: The Audio Partners Pub. Date: 27 November, 2000 Format: Audio CD Volumes: 2 List Price(USD): $19.95

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Average Customer Rating: 5 (1 review)

Rating: 5
Summary: Works on all levels
Comment: What motivated me to hear (Audio Partners) was the presence of Judi Dench and Timothy West in "performances from 33 plays," as the cover states. I have long admired Mr. West ever since an old Masterpiece Theater portrayal of Edward VII and many appearances on other British TV imports. Of Ms. Dench, little has to be said--she is the supreme actress.

I really doubted if the contents of these two cassettes or CDs with a running time of only 2.5 hours could do justice to either Shakespeare's life or work; and of course it does not. What it does accomplish works on two levels. For both beginner and Ph.D. holder, there are the readings of the two stars. Granted, each selection is very short indeed, sometimes only two or three lines. But what a joy it is to hear Mr. West take on so many roles with so many voices from the young Coriolanus to the ancient Lear. And Dame Judi's enunciation should be a lesson to all actresses who are taught to mumble and whisper by recent directors who wish to keep the dialogue a secret from the audience.

There is little new for the advanced English major in the portions that are narrated by the authors, Richard Hampton and David Weston, both of whom are actors and directors with the Royal Shakespeare Company. At best, their script is a miracle of concision, telescoping both the life and works into a cohesive narrative that must leave out so much of the life to leave time for the works. Yes, every one of the plays (except "Two Noble Kinsmen") is treated with varying degrees of brevity; and a listener totally unfamiliar with any (or all) of them can get a decent idea of what the play is about both in plot and theme. Those thoroughly familiar with the plays might smile at some of the simplifications required to carry off this recording (is Iago really the most evil villain in the plays?) while still admiring how the writers got right down to the essential points without too much editorializing.

All in all, I would highly recommend this to anyone interested in our language's greatest poet or in the art of reading his lines. Thank you, Audio Partners.

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