King Richard III

By: William Shakespeare

Narrated by: Kenneth Branagh, Geraldine McEwan, Nicholas Farrell, Stella Gonet, Michael Maloney

Written in 1593, King Richard III is one of Shakespeare's earliest plays. This play differs from its predecessors, being amore structured piece, examining the development and motivations of a single character, Richard Duke of Gloucester, who will stop at nothing to gain control of the throne occupied by his brother Edward IV.

Richard III is a self-motivating character who defies determinism (a life preordained by God) and sets his life on a course chosen by his own will and desire, as he puns in the opening soliloquy: "I am determined to be a villain. Determined by birth and God, and determined in the other sense, by his own will."

Download the accompanying reference guide.©2001 NAXOS AudioBooks (P)2001 NAXOS AudioBooks

Awesome Performance

Kenneth Branagh and the entire cast are phenomenal. Highly recommend this one for any Shakespeare fan.

Out Of This World

Out of all the plays I listened to, this was by far the best. This version is just perfect. It brings the play to life in an unbelieveable way. Some seens stuck in my head. The acters and actresses were great. I would just like to know who was who. Is there a way?

Sound quality

This is a marvelous (and relevant) political thriller and the cast are first rate. BUT it sounds like it was recorded with a cell phone. This is particularly challenging in scenes where many characters are present - the sound quality obscures who's speaking.

Great, but read with accompaniment

Would you listen to King Richard III again? Why?

Fantastic reading by an all star cast. I am an actor and to hear the way that these actors, specifically Kenneth Branagh aka Richard, interpret these characters and live in their words is absolutely phenomenal. I would highly recommend reading this with an accompaniment of the play itself to better understand who is speaking and who is on stage as I'm sure it could be very difficult to tell if you don't know the play already. However, it is a great tool to understanding how this tale is supposed to be told.

Branagh does it again

Kenneth Branagh, one of the most well known contemporary Shakespearean actors, once again leads a wonderful cast in one of my personal favorite plays. The tormented, and tormenting, Richard is brought to life with great zeal by Branagh. The rest of the cast supports this unabridged production with excellent timing and diction. Although occasionally the voices are a little low for listening on airplanes or while driving over rough roads, the recording is excellent. Very professionaly done.