Romeo and Juliet

By: William Shakespeare

Narrated by: Michael Sheen, Kate Beckinsale, full cast

Length: 2 hrs and 50 mins

Publisher's summary

Here is the full-cast production of Shakespeare's classic love story, fully dramatized from the complete text, and starring Michael Sheen as Romeo and Kate Beckinsale as Juliet.

Download the accompanying reference guide.

Public Domain (P)1997 NAXOS AudioBooks Ltd.

Romeo & Juliet

Where does Romeo and Juliet rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

As for this recording, it's professional, for sure. The actors go a bit too fast (which tends to suck the meaning and sencerity out) so if I listen to it again I'll slow it down so I can get more out of the words. I'm glad for these recordings. I'd never be able to do all the reading I want if I had to actually only read these long ones. Thanks Audible!!

What did you like best about this story?

Well, who doesn't like Shakespeare? But some story lines are meatier than others. This one starts out as a comedy and ends up quite the opposite. Ends as a cautionary tale. Parents beware! You got plans for your kids? Hopes are good, but concrete plans that your kid will do this, or that, when they grow up... Well, look out!

The classic you love

If you love Romeo and Juliet you will very much enjoy this version of the classic story. The voices are wonderful. And the text, well it's tragic.

Perfection!

This is the best version I've ever heard/seen. I LOVE Michael Sheen as Romeo! I listen to this as familiar background noise while I work, it is so comforting and beautiful.

Phenomenal

Michael Sheen and Kate Beckinsale are electric! So fiery and tender. I loved it so much.

Michael and Kate; Romeo and Juliet

Here we have a wonderfully-immersive dramatization by a full cast of eminently/talented British thespians-1aided by a dash of haunting music and sound effects—of the greatest tragic romance of all time. Honestly, the sound quality could have been a bit better, but of course the recording was made some time ago now; at the turn of the millennium. The instrumental bookends and wind in the crypt poignantly evoke the passage of centuries. Romeo’s lament that “there is no world without Verona walls” hearkens back to a time when the world was far larger and more mysterious, and to journey even so near as a neighboring city could be a perilous and onerous undertaking. Fear of the unknown persists evermore, of course, as humans remain creatures of habit and prone to homesickness even in our hyperconnected era.

I love that the parts of Romeo and Juliet were played by a real couple, Michael Sheen and Kate Beckinsale having been romantically involved for years at the time of this recording in 2001. Though their relationship ended a couple years later, they remain close friends and share a wonderful daughter, Lily.

This listen was the first time I’d spent with any version of the story in over a decade, when I read in high school the original play and viewed the daringly unorthodox Leonardo DiCaprio/Claire Danes adaptation, which transposes the original language, verbatim, into a modern setting, as has been done exceedingly few times, Ralph Fiennes’ Coriolanus being another example. I shall always clearly recall how fascinated I was with this juxtaposition, and how struck with anger at fate’s cruelty as Leonardo’s Romeo and Claire’s Juliet despair upon realizing their heartwrenching mistake in their final moments.

Even knowing the outcome in advance, their cinematically-visceral rendition cut deep, and will likely always be the one which affects me most. My teacher graciously lent me the DVD to watch at home on my laptop since I was desperate to see the whole film at once, rather than watch it piecemeal across several class periods. As promised, I arrived early the next morning to return it to him so that he could continue the viewings for his other classes.

Our English class also watched Zeffirelli’s traditional period version for comparison, which emphasized the universality of the human experience and condition across time and place. As men and nature alike conspire always against lasting happiness, we craft and cling to stories such as this so as to affirm to ourselves that with true and great effort, we may yet find true and great love—even if for only but a glorious glimmer of a magical moment.

Michael, Kate, and cast are forever amongst the ranks of the many thousands who have honored this timeless story, in land after land, generation after generation. Retold thousands of times—including by the Bard himself, who is not, in fact, its originator!—it will be retold for thousands of years. One day, the immortal tale of the all-too-mortal star-cross’d lovers will be staged among the stars, and all the universal Earth will be in love with night.

Sound Quality is the only drawback

The sound quality of this production made me imagine someone propping a microphone in front of a television showing Romeo & Juliet being performed. It's tinny-sounding, and there are background sounds of birds, wind, feet scuffling, etc, which dilute and diminish the voices to a small degree. It's not unbearable, just a bit distracting.
On the positive side, the actors are very good. Listening to this play was different from reading it on paper, or seeing it performed live... I caught different strands of relationship between the characters. The Nurse, played by Fiona Shaw, was especially brilliant.

Good for classroom use

I use this audio to allow students to follow the story while still using their imagination. However, the kiss is so cheesy that we had to stop the tape and let the class laugh for a long time. A year later, they still chuckle over that kiss.

Audio Quality

Overall, not bad. The audio could be better. I almost stopped listening in the first 5 minutes but I am glad I didn't.

Original Romeo & Juliet

Play I watched in 9th grade. This is the audio version. It’s really good, Shakespeare audio books are better than most of the dry reads on audible unless you have an interest in that subject. Tremendous!

Great Language

Romeo and Juliet is one of my favorite Shakespearean works. The language is so beautiful and the voices bring out the wonderfulness of the book. The full cast is the best way to listen to a book on tape. They even have celebrity readers (Kate Beckinsale: Pearl Harbor, Serendipity). If you like Shakespeare, romance, or tragedy than this is a great choice. If not, this is still worthwhile just for the beautiful language.