'Now is the winter of our discontent Made glorious summer by this sun of York' Shakespeare's final drama of the Wars of the Roses cycle begins as the dust settles on England after bloody civil war, and the bitter hunchback Richard, brother of the king, secretly plots to seize the throne. Charming and duplicitous, powerfully eloquent and viciously cruel, he is prepared to go to any lengths to achieve his goal. Richard III shows a man who, in his skilful manipulation of events and people, is a chilling incarnation of the temptations of power in a land shocked by war. Used and Recommended by the National Theatre General Editor Stanley Wells Edited by E. A. J. Honigmann Introduction by Michael Taylor

The culminating drama of the Wars of the Roses, Henry VI Part Three plays out the final breakdown of political and family affiliations. This Penguin Shakespeare edition is edited by Norman Sanders with an introduction by Gillian Day. 'There, take the crown, and with the crown my curse' Threatened by the Duke of York, King Henry makes a deal to disinherit his own son and make the Duke his heir. Queen Margaret is so angered by her husband's weakness that she declares war on the House of York. As conflict rages throughout England, political and family ties break down with tragic consequences. Can the vulnerable King hold out against the growing menace of the Duke's son, the future Richard III, to keep his throne - and his life? This book includes a general introduction to Shakespeare's life and the Elizabethan theatre, a separate introduction to Henry VI, Part III, a chronology, suggestions for further reading, an essay by Rebecca Brown discussing performance options on both stage and screen, and a commentary. William Shakespeare was born some time in late April 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon and died in 1616. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. Stanley Wells is Emeritus Professor of the University of Birmingham and Honorary President of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.

The Arden Shakespeare, in association with the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, presents a new series of volumes on Shakespeare's plays in performance. The series discusses and analyses the wide range of theatrical interpretation stimulated and provoked by the most frequently performed plays. Each volume explores how different directors, designers and actors have interpreted and adapted an individual play in terms of narrative focus, themes and characters, scenery and costume. The focus is on productions at Stratford-upon-Avon since 1945, on the basis that the record of Shakespeare performances at Stratford's theatres offers a wider, fuller and more various range of interpretation than is offered by any other theatre company. The volumes also set this record in a wider geographical and chronological context by means of a historical overview of earlier productions and of productions beyond Stratford. Published in conjunction with the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, each volume features a wealth of photographs (many of them not previously seen in print) drawn from the archive of RSC performance materials held in the Trust's library at the Shakespeare Centre in Stratford. Shakespeare at Stratford will surprise, inform and delight both students and scholars of Shakespeare and performance history and the general reader with an interest in theatre.