In 2004 Al Pacino portrayed Shylock on screen with heartrending pathos in Michael Radford’s The Merchant of Venice. In 1996 Kenneth Branagh created a captivating, nuanced Hamlet in a four-hour tour de force, without excising any of Shakespeare’s verse.
The resurgent interest in adapting classics for the big screen reminds us that Shakespearean theatre is a social art form. Understanding Shakespeare’s plays is within everyone’s grasp – it doesn’t have to be a dull academic exercise.
THE COMPLETE IDIOT’S GUIDE TO SHAKESPEARE’S PLAYS (Penguin/DK/Alpha Books) brings Shakespeare’s 400-year-old dramas alive in a new introduction for students, playgoers, and general readers. Written by Cynthia Greenwood, a performing arts journalist and critic who has taught Shakespeare’s plays to college students, the guide offers the essence and experience of the Shakespearean spoken word. This new reference book doesn’t just dissect great soliloquies on the page.
This guide is an invaluable reference tool for high school and university students, drama students, professional and amateur actors, teachers, playgoers, drama critics, and casual readers – or anyone who wants to discover, brush up on or reacquaint themselves with Shakespeare’s plays. Inside the book:
- Cultural and historical contexts are provided for 20 major plays, using refreshing perspectives from directors and actors in lengthy, original commentary;
- Each major play is explored in depth, explaining Shakespearean terms;
- Each chapter offers close attention to language and verse;
- Appendices include Shakespeare’s likely collaborations with other playwrights, a glossary, suggested further reading, and resources for viewing live performances and video/audio recordings.
Introductory chapters also remind us that Shakespeare was at the forefront of Western show business. (Most Americans don’t think about Shakespeare as a highly talented entrepreneur – they think of him as the author of plays they couldn’t get excited about in school.)
This book brings you closer to the heady, behind-the-scenes world of freelance playwriting and the London theatre scene of the 1590s. It also lends insight into decisions that theatre people make while acting and staging Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew, The Merchant of Venice, Othello, Hamlet, and Macbeth, to name a few.
Awards & Reviews
Nominated for a Falstaff Award for Best Book (2008) – PlayShakespeare.com
The Falstaff Awards recognize extraordinary achievement in the areas of Best Play, Best Director, Best Performance by a Male or Female Actor, among other performance and technical categories. (Click on above link for the entire press release and link to all 2008 Falstaff winners.)
Best Book or Publication Nominee
The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Shakespeare’s Plays, by Cynthia Greenwood
The works of Shakespeare are world-renowned but can be a little intimidating for someone just starting out. The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Shakespeare’s Plays is a guide for those who want to better understand this series of famous works without earning a Master’s degree in English Literature. Covering both his major plays such as Romeo & Juliet and Hamlet to his lesser known ones, the guide also entertains with facts and stories about each of the plays and the man behind the pen himself, Shakespeare. “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Shakespeare’s Plays” is a must for any stage actor who doesn’t fully understand the bard’s work.
—Midwest Book Review