Ashley Walters performs Romeo's soliloquy from Act 2, Scene 2 of Romeo and Juliet, "What light through yonder window breaks?"
The best way to appreciate and understand Shakespeare's plays is to see a live production. A list of theater companies, both in Maryland and further abroad, is below.
Search for Shakespeare in the Films on Demand database and find a wealth of materials, like this version of Twelfth Night with Kenneth Branagh and the Renaissance Theatre Company. The exemplary cast includes Richard Briers as Malvolio, Frances Barber as Viola, Caroline Langrishe as Olivia, Christopher Ravenscroft as Orsino, and James Saxon as Sir Toby Belch. The original music for this production is by Paul McCartney and Pat Doyle. (157 minutes).
There are also videos of actors rehearsing and discussing famous scenes from the plays and a series called ShakespeaRe-Told, which are modern adaptations (with modern language) of some of his most famous tales.
You will need your Owlnet username and password to access Films on Demand off campus.
In April 2011 BBC launched Off By Heart Shakespeare - a performance contest for 13-15 year olds to be filmed for a BBC Two documentary.
They challenged 10 celebrities to perform one of the speeches from the Off By Heart Shakespeare set speech list. The video to the left was one of those videos, click here for the complete BBC Off By Heart Shakespeare playlist.
To mark the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death, The Guardian, a British newspaper, asked leading actors to perform key speeches from his plays. This set of 19 videos, Shakespeare Solos, captures the romance, tragedy, villainy and magic of his plays.
Videos include Damian Lewis as Antony in Julius Caesar, Ralph Fiennes as Richard III, and Riz Ahmed as Edmund in King Lear.
