wowhd.co.uk

Three of Shakespeare's most famous tragedies are presented here as a set. Rising star Paapa Essiedu gives a stunning performance in Simon Godwin's riveting contemporary take on Hamlet; Antony Sher leads the way as the proud but fatally flawed monarch in RSC Artistic Director Gregory Doran's acclaimed King Lear; completing the collection is Iqbal Khan's astonishing and ground-breaking production of Othello, featuring Hugh Quarshie in the title role and Lucian Msamati as Iago. "It is an utterly engaging performance by Paapa Essiedu." (The Times - Hamlet) "... an arresting, accessible and entertaining production, with a shooting star of a central performance." (The Stage - Hamlet) "Sher is magnificent at the fierce, rebarbative side of this monarch. Reduced to long johns and a white shirt, he also affectingly communicates the man who, liberated by adversity, exposes himself to feel what wretches feel... (The Independent - King Lear) "Iqbal Khan's gripping production has already made history by being the first at Stratford to cast a black actor as Iago. But I had not anticipated how many fascinating ideas such an imaginative piece of casting would provoke. Hugh Quarshie is an excellent Othello torn between ancient loyalties and his assimilationist position, between his aching love for Desdemona and his easily fostered insecurity..." (The Guardian - Othello)