Drama Online Adds Gemma Arterton, Jonathan Pryce And Steven Berkoff To The Roster With Two New Shakespeare Collections

Drama Online launches two new exclusive Shakespeare collections: Shakespeare's Heroes and Villains from Steven Berkoff and Shakespeare's Globe on Screen 2 (2016-2018).

Building on a robust Shakespeare portfolio that includes The Arden Shakespeare playtexts and The Royal Shakespeare Company films of live productions, Drama Online now offers almost 40 Shakespeare playtexts, 100 hours of Shakespeare live theatre performances, 24 hours of Shakespeare films and 8 hours of Shakespeare instructional videos from world-renowned partners including BBC Films and The Hollow Crown.

Expanding on the original Shakespeare's Globe on Screen collection from 2016, this new collection features landmark productions, including the first production from the indoor Jacobean theatre, the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse in 2014. Launching with four films of live productions in March 2018, three more films will be added to the collection in October 2018 and two more in 2019, showcasing the Globe's two unique playing spaces on London's Bankside and how different artists respond to them. Each performance transports viewers directly into the standing Yard of the world famous Globe or the magical candlelit interior of the captivating Sam Wanamaker Playhouse.

Chui-Yee Cheung, Head of Film Distribution, Shakespeare's Globe, commented, "We are delighted that the collection of Globe on Screen titles now available on Drama Online continues to grow. Our filmed productions not only offer a rich catalogue of valuable learning resources for schools but also an opportunity to see and experience the iconic Globe theatre from classrooms and libraries around the world."

Steven Berkoff, world-renowned writer, director and actor known for his villainous Hollywood roles in Octopussy, Beverly Hills Cop, Rambo and The Krays, lifts the complex villains of Shakespeare from page to stage in this vividly direct and compelling film. A unique exploration and analysis of Shakespeare's most villainous characters, Iago, the Macbeths, Shylock, Richard III, plus several heroes including Henry V, Coriolanus and Oberon, students of Shakespeare and performance will dive deep into the world of characters who are inherently evil, whose situation leads them to evil deeds and who are at the mercy of an evil society.

"We are very pleased to be working with Drama Online to enable as many students and teachers as possible to enjoy and learn from Steven Berkoff's outstanding masterclass in how to perform Shakespeare. Giving the film a worldwide audience and enabling graduates to watch this in a high quality digital environment is a practical and inexpensive way for them to absorb the production."-Stephen Cookson, Director CK Films Ltd.

Developed in partnership by Bloomsbury Publishing and Faber & Faber, Drama Online was created as a response to the need for a high-quality online research tool for drama and literature students, professors and teachers. Drama Online is a fast growing study resource which now features over 2,300 titles from 800 playwrights. It is the only resource to combine exclusively available playtext content and scholarly publications with filmed live performances, film adaptations and audio plays. www.dramaonlinelibrary.com

Founded by the pioneering American actor and director Sam Wanamaker, Shakespeare's Globe celebrates Shakespeare's transformative impact on the world by conducting a radical theatrical experiment. Inspired and informed by the unique historic playing conditions of two beautiful iconic theatres, the Globe's diverse programme of work harnesses the power of performance, cultivates intellectual curiosity and excites learning to make Shakespeare accessible for all. The Globe Theatre season runs from April to October. The 2018 season opens on 25 April with Hamlet and As You Like It presented by the Globe Ensemble. It continues with Barrie Rutter's The Two Noble Kinsmen and Blanche McIntyre's The Winter's Tale. Next to open is Othello, directed by Claire van Kampen. Two new plays will also premiere at the Globe this season: Emilia by Morgan Lloyd Malcolm and Eyam by Matt Hartley.