Much Ado About Nothing (version 2)

Written by William Shakespeare

Narrated by LibriVox Community

Much Ado About Nothing is generally considered one of Shakespeare’s best comedies, because it combines elements of robust hilarity with more serious meditations on honor, shame, and court politics. Much Ado About Nothing chronicles two pairs of lovers: Benedick and Beatrice (the main couple), and Claudio and Hero (the secondary couple). Benedick and Beatrice are engaged in a very "merry war"; they are both very witty and proclaim their disdain of love. In contrast, Claudio and Hero are sweet young people who are rendered practically speechless by their love for one another. Although the young lovers Hero and Claudio provide the main impetus for the plot, the courtship between the wittier, wiser lovers Benedick and Beatrice is what makes Much Ado About Nothing so memorable. Benedick and Beatrice argue with delightful wit, and Shakespeare develops their journey from antagonism to sincere love and affection with a rich sense of humor and compassion. (Summary by Wikipedia)

Cast
Leonato: Bob Neufeld
Messenger: Ernst Pattynama
Beatrice/Boy/Second Watch: Elizabeth Klett
Hero: Amanda Friday
Don Pedro: Bruce Pirie
Benedick: mb
Don John: Eden Rea-Hedrick
Claudio: Beth Thomas
Antonio: Larry Wilson
Conrade: Brett Downey
Borachio: Chris Cartwright
Balthazar: James Silverstein
Margaret: Arielle Lipshaw
Ursula: Sarah Parshall
Dogberry: Alan Mapstone
Verges: Charlotte Duckett
First Watchman: rookieblue
Friar Francis: bala
Sexton/Lord: Todd
Narrator: Libby Gohn

Audio edited by mb and gloriana

• Language: English
• Publisher: LibriVox
• Release date: Aug 25, 2014

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare was born in April 1564 in the town of Stratford-upon-Avon, on England’s Avon River. When he was eighteen, he married Anne Hathaway. The couple had three children—an older daughter Susanna and twins, Judith and Hamnet. Hamnet, Shakespeare’s only son, died in childhood. The bulk of Shakespeare’s working life was spent in the theater world of London, where he established himself professionally by the early 1590s. He enjoyed success not only as a playwright and poet, but also as an actor and shareholder in an acting company. Although some think that sometime between 1610 and 1613 Shakespeare retired from the theater and returned home to Stratford, where he died in 1616, others believe that he may have continued to work in London until close to his death.