Publisher, Audio Partners (February 2005)

Featured performers: Hadyn Gwynne, Trevor Peacock, Julian Rhind-Tutt, Bill Nighy, Will Keen

Listen to a Windows Media audio clip.

The quality of mercy is not strained..." Hear the extraordinary power and range of Shakespeare at his best. Pathos and farce combine with moral complexity in this disturbing story of the Jewish moneylender Shylock and his demand for the "pound of flesh" owed him by the Venetian merchant, Antonio, who has fallen into Shylock's debt. The new movie stars Al Pacino.

About the Creative Director Clive Brill graduated from Oxford University and then joined the BBC where he worked for 12 years as director, producer, and commissioning editor. In 1996, he left the BBC to develop and direct the Arkangel Shakespeare project. He directed all 38 plays, which star many of today's finest actors. He is a co-director of Pacificus Productions in London, which produces drama across all media.

The Arkangel Complete Shakespeare is one of the most ambitious undertakings in recent recording history. All thirty-eight of Shakespeare's plays, uncut, fully-dramatized and accompanied by original music, are brought to life by the voices of many of the most distinguished actors presently performing in British Film and Theatre.