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Set in Scotland, “Macbeth” is the story of its titular character, a general in the army, who conspires with his wife to murder the King and usurp the throne. One of Shakespeare’s most powerful and deeply tragic plays, the work explores the psychological consequences when an immoral path is taken to advance one’s personal position. Among Shakespeare’s tragedies, “Macbeth” is noted for the exceptional simplicity of its plot and the directness of the action. Here there are no subplots to complicate the drama, hardly more than a glimpse of humor to relieve the dark picture of criminal ambition, only the steady march toward an inevitable catastrophe. This may explain its brevity, given it is one of Shakespeare’s shortest works, it has been suggested that what survives of the text may have been heavily cut from an earlier edition for the purposes of a particular performance. This tragedy illustrates in its close a conventional poetic justice that demands the triumph of the righteous cause and the downfall of the wicked. A classic study of character, “Macbeth,” is regarded to this day as one the finest examples of Shakespeare’s literary genius. This edition is annotated by Henry N. Hudson, includes an introduction by Charles Harold Herford, and a biographical afterword.

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Baptista Minola, a lord in Padua, insists that if his youngest daughter Bianca is to be married that her older sister Katherine be married first. Bianca, the more desirable of the two sisters, has no shortage of suitors. However, Katherine, the titular “shrew,” has a temper so notorious that it is thought that no man would ever wish to marry her. When Petruchio comes to town in search of a wife, Hortensio, one of Bianca’s suitors convinces Petruchio to marry Katherine. Only interested in her money, Petruchio marries Katherine and returns with her to his country house in Verona in order to “tame” her, a task that he soon finds out is more than he bargained for. Meanwhile, Gremio, Lucentio, and Hortensio, now free to court Bianca, all vie for her hand in marriage. Believed to have been written between 1590 and 1592, “The Taming of the Shrew” is a comedy by William Shakespeare which has met with some criticism in the modern era for its apparent misogynistic elements. This edition is annotated by Henry N. Hudson and includes an introduction by Charles Harold Herford.

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“Antigone,” the first Theban play written by Sophocles yet chronologically last in the cycle, is a masterpiece of classical antiquity which examines the conflict between public duty and personal loyalty. Following the banishment of Oedipus, his two sons Eteocles and Polyneices have died leading opposite sides in Thebes’s civil war, fighting each other for the throne. Queen Jocasta’s brother Creon, now the ruler of Thebes, declares that Eteocles will be honored but Polyneices is to be publically shamed by refusing him burial rites. Creon declares that anyone attempting to do so will be put to death. In ancient Greece the refusal of burial rites was one of the most disrespectful acts that could have been shown to a person and their family. Antigone finds herself compelled by familial duty and disregards Creon’s edict by scattering dirt across Polyneices’s corpse. Creon, whose son Haemon is engaged to Antigone, finds himself torn between a personal loyalty to his family and a civic duty to punish Antigone for this crime. One of the greatest dramas from classical antiquity, “Antigone,” along with its Theban counterparts, “Oedipus the King,” and “Oedipus at Colonus,” established Sophocles as one of the most renowned dramatists of his era. This edition follows the translation of E. H. Plumptre and includes an introduction by J. Churton Collins.

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One of Shakespeare’s most frequently performed plays and regarded as maybe his best comedy, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” is the story of the events surrounding the wedding of Theseus, Duke and Athens, and the Amazonian queen Hippolyta. At the outset of the play we find Hermia, who is in love with Lysander but is betrothed by her father’s arrangement to Demetrius. Meanwhile Helena laments her unrequited love of Demetrius. Several parallel and interconnecting plot lines complicate the narrative. One of which is the planning of a play, “Pyramus and Thisbe,” to be performed at the wedding. Secondly an element of fantasy is introduced through the story of Oberon, King of the fairies, and his Queen, Titania, whom he conspires against through the use of a magical love potion. The use of this love potion alters the varying affections of the characters of the play resulting in a series of comedic mishaps. Unlike many of Shakespeare’s works “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” does not drawn upon any historical or previous literary work, making it one of his most original compositions. This edition is annotated by Henry N. Hudson, includes an introduction by Charles Harold Herford, and a biographical afterword.

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Believed to have been written in 1591, William Shakespeare’s “Richard III” is one of the bards first plays, the first installment in a tetralogy of plays which includes “Henry IV, Part I”, “Henry IV, Part II”, and “Henry V”. One of the longest of Shakespeare’s plays and consequently rarely performed unabridged, “Richard III” is the story of the Machiavellian rise to power and subsequent short reign of King Richard III of England. The play begins with Richard, known in the play as Gloucester, describing the ascension of his brother, King Edward IV, to the throne of England. Through a series of scheming actions, Richard III clears all the obstacles in his way to claim the thrown of England. Lasting just two years, Richard III’s rule is short, ended by his inglorious defeat at Bosworth Field, the last decisive battle of the Wars of the Roses, which marked the end of the Middle Ages in England. Criticized for its historical accuracy, Shakespeare’s depiction of Richard III is that of a decisively amoral character and his downfall as the conquering of good over evil. However the portrayal is not entirely one-sided as Richard is humanized through his soliloquies to the audience and as such provides a brilliant example of the anti-hero in literature. This edition includes a preface and annotations by Henry N. Hudson and an introduction by Charles Harold Herford.

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This collection of plays captures the comedic genius of Plautus, one of the most important playwrights from classical Roman antiquity. Plautus adapted most of his plays from earlier Greek stories, making him essential in helping to preserve the history and integrity of Greek theatre. What makes Plautus extraordinary, though, is that he kept the essence of the Greek shows while evolving the language to fit contemporary Roman tastes. He refused to let the renovations of the story be compromised by ultimate life-lessons or other philosophical teachings; instead, Plautus focused on the everyday life of his fellow Roman citizens. His plays also contained some of the earliest examples of slapstick humor, making them significant in the history of comedic theatre. Through the use of clever wordplay and by drawing upon well-known archetypes, Plautus created a type of theater that would influence such future masters of the stage as Moliere and Shakespeare. Collected together here the reader will find a representative collection of eight plays in translations by Paul Nixon and Henry Thomas Riley.

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Aristophanes, often referred to as “The Father of Comedy”, is an ancient Greek poet and playwright who is credited with helping to create the art of satire and irony. Of the over forty plays Aristophanes wrote during his lifetime only eleven survive to this day of which five are collected together here in this volume.“The Wasps” is a play which satirizes the Athenian general Cleon, a popular contemporary demagogue, and the Athenian courts which empower him. “The Thesmophoriazusae” depicts a gathering of women at an annual festival as they plan to enact their revenge upon Euripides for his unflattering depiction of their sex. “The Frogs” relates the journey of the god Dionysus to the underworld, who wishes to improve the state of Athenian tragedy by bringing Euripides back from the dead. In “The Clouds” we find a lampoon of contemporary Athenian intellectuals, most notably Socrates. Lastly in “Plutus”, Aristophanes employs the god of wealth, Plutus, to satirize the political economics of Athenian society. This edition follows the prose translations of The Athenian Society and includes a biographical afterword.

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Aristophanes, often referred to as “The Father of Comedy”, is an ancient Greek poet and playwright who is credited with helping to create the art of satire and irony. Of the over forty plays Aristophanes wrote during his lifetime only eleven survive to this day of which six are collected together here in this volume. In “The Acharnians”, there is the story of Dikaiopolis, an Athenian who brokers a private peace treaty with the Spartans. “The Knights” satirizes Athenian society and politics during the Peloponnesian War. In “Peace” we find a joyous anticipation by the Athenian people of an end to the Peloponnesian War, staged just days before the actual end to the war. With “The Birds”, Aristophanes relates a fantastical tale of a magical city in the sky. “Lysistrata” concerns the comic account of Athenian women to bring about an end to the Peloponnesian War by withholding sex from their husbands. And finally in “The Ecclesiazusae” there is the tale of Athenian women seizing control of the government and establishing a society of fiscal and sexual equality. This edition follows the prose translations of The Athenian Society and includes a biographical afterword.

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From The Persians"Defeat is impossibleDefeat is unthinkableWe have always been the favorites of fate.Fortune has cupped usIn her golden palms.It has only been a matterOf choosing our desire. Which fruitTo pick from the nodding tree."This chilling passage is from Ellen McLaughlin’s new adaptation of The Persians by Aeschylus, the earliest surviving play in Western literature, an elegy for a fallen civi-lization and a warning to its new conqueror. As Margo Jefferson wrote in the New York Times, «The play is a true classic: we see the present and the future right there, inside the past. And when writers give us a ‘new version’ (a translation or adaptation) of a classic, they both serve and use it. They serve the playwright’s gifts by refusing to simplify. But they can’t just imitate. Every age has its own rhythms and drives. The classic must make us feel the new acutely. Ellen McLaughlin serves and uses The Persians with true power and grace.»Also included in this volume: Iphigenia and Other Daughters (from Euripides and Sophocles); The Trojan Women (Euripides); Helen (Euripides); and Lysistrata (Aristophanes), all powerfully realized and as relevant today as when they were first performed.Ellen McLaughlin’s plays include Days and Nights Within, A Narrow Bed, Infinity’s House and Tongue of a Bird, which have been widely produced. She is a past finalist for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize and was the co-winner of the Great American Play Contest. Also an accomplished actor, Ms. McLaughlin is most known for having originated the part of the Angel in Tony Kushner’s Angels in America, appearing in every U.S. production through its Broadway run.

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“The marvel of Mr. Eno’s new version is how closely it tracks the original while also being, at every moment and unmistakably, a Will Eno play. After climbing the craggy peaks of Ibsen’s daunting play, Mr. Eno has brought down from its dizzying heights a surprising crowd-pleasing (if still strange) work.” — Charles Isherwood, New York Times“Gnit is classic Will Eno. By that I mean I was thrilled by it.” — Kris Vire, TimeOut Chicago“If ever a play made me want to be a better person, this is it.” — Bob Fischbach, Omaha World-HeraldPeter Gnit, a funny enough, but so-so specimen of humanity, makes a lifetime of bad decisions on the search for his True Self. This is a rollicking yet cautionary tale about (among other things) how the opposite of love is laziness. Gnit is a faithful, unfaithful and willfully American misreading of Henrik Ibsen’s Peer Gynt (a nineteenth-century Norwegian play), written by Will Eno, who has never been to Norway.Will Eno’s most recent plays include The Open House (Signature Theatre, New York, 2014; Obie Award, Lucille Lortel Award for Best Play) and The Realistic Joneses (Yale Repertory Theatre, New Haven, 2012; Broadway, 2014). His play Middletown received the Horton Foote Prize and Thom Pain (based on nothing) was a finalist for the 2005 Pulitzer Prize. Mr. Eno lives Brooklyn.

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