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Audio Book: The Complete Arkangel Shakespeare
Written by William Shakespeare (Audio Partners) 98 CD's 101 Hours
Reviewed by Erick Mertz
The mere idea of a complete audio Shakespeare edition is enough to cause palpitations in the heart of theater and language enthusiasts; its reality sets the heart-a-reeling. The hunt and capture of William Shakespeare's work has always been a widespread undertaking, from adapting true to form plays for the BBC screen or radical alterations, changing the fields of England to a California High School or haunted brewery. Sometimes these labors have been successful in drawing the divergent audiences closer to the play's elusive essence and other times, they fall tragically short.
Each of the plays - 38 in all, comprising the complete canon of Shakespeare's works - are represented uncut and fully dramatized, following the authority of the Complete Pelican Shakespeare. Their individual impacts are nothing short of astounding, as the most distinguished actors from contemporary theater companies are present, delivering performances that conjure up the unparalleled magic and majesty of the theater. Joseph Fiennes plays Romeo in the famous balcony scene; the late, Sir John Gielgud is Gower from the often neglected, Pericles; Simon Russell Beale renders the most heart wrenching passages as Hamlet, the conflicted Prince of Denmark. Supplementing their readings is an appropriate array of ambient sound and music composed by Dominique Le Gendre; closing your eyes, one can move in almost seamless flight into a place within the famed Globe Theater.
The Complete Arkangel Shakespeare is, like the body of written plays it's derived from, nothing short of daunting. Weighing in at an improbable 101 hours spent over 98 discs, this redefines the term "box set." There can be no mistaking that this audio complement is meant to work in conjunction with the printed word and cannot be expected to remove the interpretative need from absorbing the Bard's work. William Shakespeare's poetry is among the most beautiful ever written in the English language but it also presents a challenge to the beginner's ear. This expertly performed and directed edition, however, may be that which brings the life and sparkle of performance back to the old language, making it more palatable to the casual scholar.
© 2003 - Erick Mertz