BBC Shakespeare Archive

Culture in Quarantine: Shakespeare | Hamlet

Sent by the ghost of his father to avenge his brutal death, Hamlet’s mission to expose the truth is a perilous journey of madness...

Culture in Quarantine: Shakespeare | Macbeth

Shakespeare’s darkest psychological thriller. Returning home from battle, the victorious Macbeth meets three witches on the heat...

Culture in Quarantine: Shakespeare | Much Ado About Nothing

Autumn 1918: a group of soldiers return from the trenches, and the world-weary Benedick and his friend Claudio fi...

Culture in Quarantine: Shakespeare | Othello

Othello is the greatest general of his age but he is also an outsider whose victories have created enemies of his own. As they p...

Culture in Quarantine: Shakespeare | Romeo and Juliet

What if your first true love was someone you’d been told to hate? Ripped apart by the bitter divisions of their parents...

Culture in Quarantine: Shakespeare | The Merchant of Venice

In the melting pot of Venice, trade is God, and when the gold is flowing, all is well. But when a contract betwee...

RSC's Henry IV, Part 1

Antony Sher stars as Falstaff in the RSC's 2014 production of Shakespeare's history play, directed by the company's artistic director, Gregory Doran.

Shakespeare Live! From the RSC

Live theatrical event: David Tennant and Catherine Tate present a gala to mark the life and work of William Shakespeare on the 400th anniversa...

Lights Up | The Winter's Tale

King Leontes rips his family apart with his jealousy, but grief opens his heart. Will he find the child he abandoned before it is too late? Set...

Macbeth (2010)

This film of Macbeth is based on Chichester Festival's 2007 production of the play starring Patrick Stewart in the title role. It was filmed at Welbeck Abbey ...

Hamlet (2009)

Drama with David Tennant in the title role of the RSC's production of Shakespeare's tragedy. Claudius has killed Prince Hamlet's father and usurped the throne,...

Romeo + Juliet (1996)

A pair of 'star-crossed lovers' from rival families in a violence-riven city must hide their blossoming romance. Baz Luhrmann's explosive update of the...

Romeo & Juliet (2013)

Adaptation of Shakespeare's play about two young, tragic lovers torn apart by the feuding rivalry between their respective families in Medieval Verona.

The Merchant of Venice (2004)

An adaptation of Shakespeare's play about a Jewish moneylender who seeks to forfeit a literal pound of flesh from his Christian nemesis. Starri...

The Taming of the Shrew

Adaptation of Shakespeare's comedy about a feisty, headstrong woman who is eventually tamed by her new husband. Starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard...

The Tempest (2010)

Adaptation of Shakespeare's play: Prospera is banished from Milan by her brother and finds herself stranded on an island with her daughter, where she wait...

ShakespeaRe-told | Much Ado About Nothing

Retelling of Shakespeare plays: a romantic comedy set in a south coast regional TV newsroom, charting the relationship between ex-l...

ShakespeaRe-told | Macbeth

Retelling of Shakespeare plays: when three binmen tell Joe Macbeth he's to become the owner of the restaurant where they work, the head chef, spur...

ShakespeaRe-told | The Taming of the Shrew

Shakespeare's comedy retold by Sally Wainwright: talented - yet peevish - politician Katherine Minola is under pressure to marry, ...

ShakespeaRe-told | A Midsummer Night's Dream

An updated retelling of Shakespeare's romantic comedy. A Midsummer Night's Dream is transferred to a holiday centre. Cue four wa...

Julius Caesar (1953)

Rome, 44 BC. Caesar's power has grown so great that even his allies in the senate plot his downfall. Classic Hollywood adaptation of William Shakespeare...

Richard III (1955)

Having helped his brother King Edward IV take the throne of England, the jealous Richard, Duke of York, conspires and plots to seize power for himself, or...

Twelfth Night (1974)

A BBC production of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night with a Regency theme and set in the splendours of Castle Howard in Yorkshire.

Macbeth (1948)

Orson Welles's classic film version of Shakespeare's play about a Scottish nobleman heavily influenced by his wife's lust for power.

Performance | Macbeth on the Estate

Shakespeare's tragedy play is updated to the present day. Set on the Ladywood council estate in Birmingham, it imagines a scenario where ...

Performance | Henry IV Part I

Part 1 of a 1995 BBC screen adaptation by John Caird which compresses both parts of Henry IV into a three-hour television drama focusing on the...

Performance | Henry IV Part II

Part 2 of a 1995 BBC screen adaptation by John Caird which compresses both parts of Henry IV into a three-hour television drama focusing on th...

Performance | King Lear

The film version of Shakespeare's King Lear, which was first produced at the National Theatre's Cottesloe Theatre, directed by Richard Eyre.

Performance | Richard II

A production of the National Theatre’s 1995 production of Richard II directed by Deborah Warner with Fiona Shaw in the title role. It was re-staged ...

Performance | Measure for Measure

David Thacker's 1994 adaptation of Shakespeare's play which has been set in the near future. This was the first Shakespeare production made...

The Hollow Crown | Richard II

Shakespeare adaptation starring Ben Whishaw. King Richard is called upon to settle a dispute between his cousin Henry Bolingbroke and Thomas Mo...

The Hollow Crown | Henry IV Part I

When King Henry is threatened by rebellion led by Hotspur, his dissolute son Prince Hal must join him to defeat the rebels and fight Hotsp...

The Hollow Crown | Henry IV Part II

In the aftermath of the Battle of Shrewsbury, Northumberland learns of the death of his son. The Lord Chief Justice attempts to separate ...

The Hollow Crown | Henry V

Henry V has settled onto the throne and has the makings of a fine king when the French ambassador brings a challenge from the Dauphin. Inspired by...

The Hollow Crown | The Wars of the Roses: Henry VI Part I

Drama based on Shakespeare's history play. Henry VI Part I. With Henry V dead and against the backdrop of wars in F...

The Hollow Crown | The Wars of the Roses: Henry VI Part II

After victory at the Battle of St Albans, the Yorkists force King Henry VI and the Lancastrians to surrender their...

The Hollow Crown | The Wars of the Roses: Richard III

In his quest for the throne, Richard will stop at nothing - not even murder.

The BBC Television Shakespeare | A Midsummer Night's Dream

A 1981 BBC production of Shakespeare's classic comedy play. This was broadcast as part of the 37-play BBC Televisi...

The BBC Television Shakespeare | All's Well That Ends Well

A 1981 version of the classic Shakespeare "problem comedy". The Countess of Rousillon's son, Bertram prepares to l...

The BBC Television Shakespeare | Antony and Cleopatra

The first part of a 1981 BBC production of Shakespeare's classic play. This was broadcast as part of the 37-play BBC Te...

The BBC Television Shakespeare | As You Like It

Classic comedy by William Shakespeare about the travails of lovers Rosalind and Orlando, who become entangled in a beguiling ...

The BBC Television Shakespeare | Cymbeline

A 1983 BBC television presentation of Shakespeare's Cymbeline. This was broadcast as part of the 37-play BBC Television Shakespear...

The BBC Television Shakespeare | Hamlet, Prince of Denmark

The first part of a 1980 televised production of the classic Shakespeare tragedy play, shot entirely in a studio.

The BBC Television Shakespeare | Henry IV

A 1979 BBC production of Shakespeare's history play which features the opportunistic miscreant, Sir John Falstaff. This was broadca...

The BBC Television Shakespeare | Henry IV Part II

A 1979 BBC production of Shakespeare's history play. This was broadcast as part of the 37-play BBC Television Shakespeare p...

The BBC Television Shakespeare | Henry V

A 1979 BBC production of Shakespeare's history play. This was broadcast as part of the 37-play BBC Television Shakespeare project an...

The BBC Television Shakespeare | Henry VI

A 1983 BBC television presentation of the first part of Shakespeare's Henry VI. Henry V is dead and war continues with France. The ...

The BBC Television Shakespeare | Henry VI Part II

A 1983 BBC television presentation of Shakespeare's Henry VI Part II. This was broadcast as part of the 37-play BBC Televis...

The BBC Television Shakespeare | Henry VI Part III

A 1983 BBC television presentation of Shakespeare's Henry VI Part III. Richard, Duke of Gloucester, aspiring to the crown,...

The BBC Television Shakespeare | Henry VIII

A 1979 BBC production of Shakespeare's history play. This was broadcast as part of the 37-play BBC Television Shakespeare project...

The BBC Television Shakespeare | Julius Caesar

A 1979 BBC production of Shakespeare's great political thriller which tells the story of the conspiracy against Caesar, his as...

The BBC Television Shakespeare | King Lear

The first part of a 1982 BBC production of Shakespeare's classic play. This was broadcast as part of the 37-play BBC Television S...

The BBC Television Shakespeare | King Lear - Part 2

The second part of a 1982 BBC production of Shakespeare's classic play. This was broadcast as part of the 37-play BBC Te...

The BBC Television Shakespeare | Love's Labour's Lost

A 1985 BBC television presentation of Shakespeare's classic comedy play. This was broadcast as part of the 37-play BBC ...

The BBC Television Shakespeare | Macbeth

A 1983 BBC television presentation of Shakespeare's Macbeth. This was broadcast as part of the 37-play BBC Television Shakespeare pr...

The BBC Television Shakespeare | Measure for Measure

A 1979 BBC production of Shakespeare's classic comedy which occasionally veers into more troublesome territory, as the c...

The BBC Television Shakespeare | Much Ado about Nothing

A 1984 BBC television presentation of Shakespeare's classic comedy play. This was broadcast as part of the 37-play BB...

The BBC Television Shakespeare | Othello

A 1981 BBC production of Shakespeare's classic play. This was broadcast as part of the 37-play BBC Television Shakespeare project. T...

The BBC Television Shakespeare | Pericles, Prince of Tyre

A 1984 BBC television presentation of Shakespeare's play. This was broadcast as part of the 37-play BBC Television ...

The BBC Television Shakespeare | Richard II

A 1978 BBC production of the classic Shakespeare story of King Richard II. This was the second broadcast of the 37-play BBC Telev...

The BBC Television Shakespeare | Romeo and Juliet

A 1978 BBC production of the classic Shakespeare tragic tale of two star-crossed lovers in 14th-century Verona. This was th...

The BBC Television Shakespeare | The Comedy of Errors

A 1983 BBC television presentation of Shakespeare's early comedy play. This was broadcast as part of the 37-play BBC Te...

The BBC Television Shakespeare | The Life and Death of King John

A 1984 BBC television presentation of Shakespeare's history play. This was broadcast as part of the 37-play ...

The BBC Television Shakespeare | The Merchant of Venice

A 1980 BBC production of Shakespeare's classic play. This was broadcast as part of the 37-play BBC Television Shakesp...

The BBC Television Shakespeare | The Merry Wives of Windsor

A 1982 BBC production of Shakespeare's classic play. This was broadcast as part of the 37-play BBC Television Sh...

The BBC Television Shakespeare | The Taming of the Shrew

A 1980 BBC production of Shakespeare's classic play. This was broadcast as part of the 37-play BBC Television Shakes...

The BBC Television Shakespeare | The Tempest

A 1980 BBC production of Shakespeare's classic play. This was broadcast as part of the 37-play BBC Television Shakespeare project.

The BBC Television Shakespeare | The Tragedy of Coriolanus

A 1983 BBC television presentation of Shakespeare's classic play. This was broadcast as part of the 37-play BBC Te...

The BBC Television Shakespeare | The Tragedy of Richard III

A 1983 BBC television presentation of Shakespeare's Richard III. This was broadcast as part of the 37-play BBC Te...

The BBC Television Shakespeare | The Two Gentlemen of Verona

A 1983 BBC television presentation of Shakespeare's rarely performed comedy play. This was broadcast as part of ...

The BBC Television Shakespeare | The Winter's Tale

A 1981 BBC production of Shakespeare's classic play. This was broadcast as part of the 37-play BBC Television Shakespeare ...

The BBC Television Shakespeare | Timon of Athens

A 1981 BBC production of Shakespeare's classic play. This was broadcast as part of the 37-play BBC Television Shakespeare pr...

The BBC Television Shakespeare | Titus Andronicus

A 1985 BBC television presentation of Shakespeare's classic tragic play. This was the last broadcast in the 37-play BBC Tel...

The BBC Television Shakespeare | Troilus and Cressida

A 1981 BBC production of Shakespeare's classic satire on the theme of love and war. This was broadcast as part of the 3...

The BBC Television Shakespeare | Twelfth Night, Or What You Will

A 1980 BBC production of Shakespeare's comedy play. This was broadcast as part of the 37-play BBC Television...

English File: Why Shakespeare? | Romeo and Juliet

Four actors from the Royal Shakespeare Company tackle two famous scenes from two famous plays - the balcony scene from Rome...

English File: Why Shakespeare? | Twelfth Night

Twelfth Night is called a comedy, while Macbeth is a tragedy - so how do actors try to get laughs or make the plays work their...

GCSE Bitesize | English - Macbeth

An exam revision programme that looks at the GCSE English curriculum focusing on Macbeth by William Shakespeare.

GCSE Bitesize | English - Romeo and Juliet

An exam revision programme that looks at the GCSE English curriculum focusing on Romeo and Juliet.

GCSE Bitesize | Shakespeare - Hamlet and The Merchant of Venice

Comedy video shorts presenting the characters, plot and themes from Hamlet and The Merchant of Venice. Presen...

GCSE Bitesize: English Literature | Romeo and Juliet (2009)

A compilation of video shorts to support students studying Romeo and Juliet, Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Lord of the F...

Open University | Antony and Cleopatra - Workshop

The workshop examines one of the many short, crowded scenes of the play, in which Antony takes his leave of Cleopatra befor...

Open University | The Authentick and Ironical Historie of Henry V

This programme looks for the real King Henry V in Medieval history, on the Shakespearean stage and in Olivi...

Open University | The Learning Zone - The Sonnet

A schools programme which looks at the form and content of a selection of sonnets from William Wordsworth, Philip Sidney, Wi...

Imagine... | Being Hamlet

Alan Yentob follows Welsh actor Wayne Cater and three other Hamlet hopefuls as they prepare for a Shakespeare role that has become a rite of passag...

Omnibus | Living Shakespeare - A Year with the RSC

This year has been the Royal Shakespeare Company's 30th season, and the first under its new artistic director, Adrian Nobl...

The Best Bottoms in the Land | Shakespeare's Dream in London

Following six amateur actors as they join the Royal Shakespeare Company in performing A Midsummer Night's Dream ...

Living Shakespeare

All the world really is a stage as the BBC World Service presents a series of stories about Shakespeare's impact across the globe.

Jonathan Miller Directs | The Making of Antony and Cleopatra

A portrait of Jonathan Miller as he directs Antony and Cleopatra in the BBC Television Shakespeare series. This ...

HARDtalk | Gregory Doran

Why does Shakespeare still captivate us? Why do we continue to make much ado about Shakespeare? Stephen Sackur interviews Gregory Doran, artistic di...

Lenny and Will | Act One

Starting at the recreated Globe Theatre, Lenny Henry takes a journey of discovery through the plays he's now passionate about to find out why we so ...

Hamlet Revisited

An exploration of Shakespeare's most famous character Hamlet with excerpts of various screen interpretations of the character. The programme includes clips...

A Timewatch Guide | S1E2: Cleopatra

Using the BBC film archives, historian Vanessa Collinridge explores how our view of Cleopatra has changed and evolved over the years - fr...

Artsnight 2016 | The Year of King Lear

With five major productions of Shakespeare's King Lear taking place across 2016, this film looks at why Lear resonates so deeply with ...

Behind the Scenes | Afro-Futurist Shakespeare

Carnival colours and Afro beats herald the return of live audiences to the RSC in Stratford-upon-Avon after Covid restrictions ...

British History's Biggest Fibs with Lucy Worsley | 1: The Wars of the Roses

Lucy Worsley shows how Henry VII and his historians fabricated the scale of the Wars of the Roses...

Changing Stages | 1: Shakespeare

The first in a new six-part series in which Richard Eyre gives his personal view of the story of theatre over the last 100 years. This week,...

Cleopatra and Me: In Search of a Lost Queen

Was Cleopatra a seductress or a great politician? Shakespeare scholar Dr Islam Issa's exploration of why history and literature h...

Daytime on Two | General Studies: Updating Shakespeare

Two theatre directors, John Barton of the Royal Shakespeare Company and Michael Bogdanov of the National Theatre, disc...

Archive on 4 | Playing The Dane

Archive based programme, on the topic of the role of Hamlet, presented by Michael Sheen and produced by Emma Harding

Free Thinking | Lady Macbeth

Playwright Zinnie Harris, author Isabelle Schuler, Michelle Assay and New Generation Thinker Emma Whipday discuss characters in Shakespeare's Sc...

Free Thinking | Shakespeare's Women

As the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust embarks on a year of events marking the 'women who made Shakespeare', Anne McElvoy hears about new re...

Free Thinking | What does Global Shakespeare Mean?

Philip Dodd is joined by academic Preti Taneja, Professor David Schalkwyk, director Dominic Dromgoole and Professor Sonia ...

Love, Tyranny and Madness

A documentary about King Lear, and how Shakespeare took a well known fairy tale and turned it into a dark play about family relationships.

Much Ado About Comedy

Matt Lucas explores Shakespeare's comedies and asks what influence the playwright has had on modern-day humour, with contributions from some of the UKs...

Shakespeare's Restless World

Documentary about Elizabethan and Jacobean audiences in Shakespeare's time, presented by Neil MacGregor as part of Shakespeare Season. He looks ...

Simon Schama's Shakespeare | 1: This England

Simon Schama argues that it is impossible to understand how Shakespeare came to belong 'to all time' without understanding just ...

Lady Macbeth (2016)

Newly married to a rich industrialist, Katherine finds herself confined to the house and starved of companionship.

Hunky Dory

In the heat of the summer of 1976, a drama teacher tries to put on an end-of-year music version of Shakespeare's The Tempest. Contains strong language.

West Side Story (1961)

The tensions between rival gangs the Jets and the Sharks reach boiling point when Tony, the co-founder of the Jets, meets Maria, the sister of the lea...

Kiss Me Kate (1964)

Howard Keel and Patricia Morison star in the TV version of the classic American musical, based on Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew, by Sam and Bella...

All Is True (2018)

After London's Globe Theatre burns to the ground in 1613, William Shakespeare stops writing and returns to his home town of Stratford-upon-Avon.

Shakespeare in Love (1998)

William Shakespeare is out of ideas. That is, until Viola de Lesseps, the stage-struck daughter of a wealthy merchant, attends auditions disguised...

Shakespeare: Rise of a Genius

Shakespeare waves goodbye to his family to follow his dream of becoming a playwright. He enters a world of plague, rivalry and every possible k...

15-Minute Hamlet

The play's the thing: this contribution to the Tom Stoppard season has all the famous lines, though not necessarily in the right order. Pure fun, yet proof ...

A Waste of Shame

Drama by William Boyd based on Shakespeare's sonnets, exploring the identities of the Bard's 'fair youth' and 'dark lady'.

And Calm of Mind

Ex-soldiers turn to Shakespeare to tackle post-traumatic stress: Chris Ledgard follows the Combat Veteran Players, as they take Henry V from a community hal...

Bill (2017)

Family comedy from the performers of Horrible Histories, in which young Bill Shakespeare leaves Stratford to follow his latest dream, to be a playwright in London

Blast TV | Othello Retold

MOBO winner Akala and 50 young Manchester-based MCs, musicians, dancers and visual artists attempt to script and perform a hip hop version of Othel...

Cunk On Shakespeare

Comedy documentary programme from Charlie Brooker starring Philomena Cunk (Diane Morgan), the witless commentator from Charlie Brooker's Weekly Wipe. Phi...

Doctor Who | The Shakespeare Code

The Doctor takes Martha to Elizabethan England, where William Shakespeare is under the control of deadly witch-like creatures.

Elsinore | S1

Set in an alternative Europe in the 1930s, Elsinore imagines the turbulent world of the Danish Court in events that take place some years before the story told...

Felicity Kendal's Indian Shakespeare Quest

Felicity Kendal launched her acting career in India, where her parents ran an eccentric touring theatre company called Shakespeare...

Friday Drama | The Late Mr Shakespeare

A former boy actor in Shakespeare's company finally discovers what it means to fall in love. By Robert Nye and dramatised by Jonathan ...

Free Thinking | Shakespeare as inspiration

Matthew Sweet is joined by Preti Taneja, Iain Smith and Andrew Dickson to discuss films, art and literature across the centuries, ...

Growing Up Downs

Observational documentary, following young actors who have Down's Syndrome and their theatre group, as it tours with a production of Shakespeare's Hamlet.

Hamlet 2

Comedy about a failed actor turned drama teacher, Steve Coogan, who sets about creating a controversial and inspirational sequel to Shakespeare's Hamlet. Contains v...

Hamlet, Part 2

A play in blank verse answering the question that has plagued readers, scholars and theatre-goers for almost 400 years: 'What happened next?'

Horrible Histories | S4E5 - Shakespeare Rap

William Shakespeare gets into a rap battle.

Horrible Histories Specials | Sensational Shakespeare

Children's historical comedy sketch programme: a special episode looking at the life and times of William Shakespeare, ...

Macbeth Remixed

Series comparing the known historical facts about Macbeth with Shakespeare's dramatisation. Was Macbeth a murderous tyrant or a generous and popular king?

Marrying Mum and Dad | Shakespeare

Best friends Bella and Chloe plan a wedding of theatrical proportions as they put on a Shakespeare-inspired wedding. Mum and dad have to p...

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (1990)

Screen adaptation of Tom Stoppard's comic stage play which brings two minor characters of Shakespeare's Hamlet into the spotligh...

Kiss Me Kate (1953)

Adaptation of Cole Porter's hit about a theatre company attempting a musical version of The Taming of the Shrew. Songs include So in Love. With Howard Ke...

Shakespeare's Fire by Glyn Maxwell

Jane Horrocks and Jasper Britton star in a comedy about the fire that marked the end of Shakespeare's career. Poet Glyn Maxwell's true sto...

Shakespeare's Happy Endings

A comic take on Shakespeare: Professor Simon Starkman has been given a chance to present a new take on Shakespeare, including Romeo and Juliet wi...

Upstart Crow | S1

Shakespearean sitcom: Will struggles to find inspiration for Romeo while at the same time having to deal with an angry actor, a very annoying house-guest a...

Shakespeare In Perspective | A Midsummer Night's Dream

Dr Roy Strong gives his personal view of A Midsummer Night's Dream. He visits Hatfield House to introduce the play whi...

Shakespeare In Perspective | All's Well That Ends Well

Barry Took offers a personal view of Shakespeare's play All's Well That Ends Well.

Shakespeare In Perspective | Antony and Cleopatra

Anna Raeburn offers her personal view of this epic love story in which everything is sacrificed to an obsessive passion. An...

Shakespeare In Perspective | As You Like It

Brigid Brophy offers a personal view of the comedy As You Like It which was originally an Elizabethan 'best seller'.

Shakespeare In Perspective | Coriolanus

General Sir John Hackett gives an introduction to Shakespeare's Coriolanus which portrays a soldier hero who is destroyed by his unyi...

Shakespeare In Perspective | Cymbeline

In his 'personal view' playwright Dennis Potter sees the world of Cymbeline as 'the extravagant imperious, improbable, tender shocking...

Shakespeare In Perspective | Hamlet

Clive James offers a personal view of Shakespeare's play, 'the greatest in the English language', whose hero 'incarnates the dignity of h...

Shakespeare In Perspective | Henry IV Part I

George Melly offers a personal view of the play Henry IV Part I, and introduces Sir John Falstaff whom he regards as Shakespeare...

Shakespeare In Perspective | Henry IV Part II

Fred Emery offers a personal view of the play Henry IV Part II. He regards Shakespeare as 'the master of all political journali...

Shakespeare In Perspective | Henry V

Lord Chalfont offers a personal view of the play Henry V; he describes the epic military campaign on which the play is based and assesse...

Shakespeare In Perspective | Henry VI Part I

Michael Wood sets the scene for the first play in this historical trilogy telling of the death of heroes, loss of Empire and the...

Shakespeare In Perspective | Henry VI Part II

Michael Wood presents a personal view of Henry VI Part II. He questions the portrayal of Henry as 'a naive, weak but moral man ...

Shakespeare In Perspective | Henry VI Part III

Michael Wood presents a personal view of Henry VI Part III. He traces the background to the play which ends with the depositio...

Shakespeare In Perspective | Henry VIII

Anthony Burgess sets Shakespeare in perspective by looking at the circumstances which surrounded the first public performance of Shak...

Shakespeare In Perspective | Julius Caesar

Jonathan Dimbleby places Shakespeare in Perspective with a personal view of the play he describes as a 'chillingly precise metapho...

Shakespeare In Perspective | King John

Sir Peter Parker visits the ruins of Minster Lovell Hall to present his personal view of the play which he describes as a 'blood-curdl...

Shakespeare In Perspective | King Lear

In his personal view, Professor Frank Kermode suggests that 'one purpose of tragedy may be to make us look steadily at things we prefe...

Shakespeare In Perspective | Love's Labour's Lost

Novelist Emma Tennant gives her personal view of Love's Labour's Lost which centres on four studious young men and their at...

Shakespeare In Perspective | Macbeth

Crime writer Julian Symons offers his personal view of the play which he believes illustrates a classic case of the psychological condit...

Shakespeare In Perspective | Measure for Measure

John Mortimer offers a personal view of the play as he visits the Inns of Court to place Shakespeare in Perspective and disc...

Shakespeare In Perspective | Much Ado about Nothing

Writer Eleanor Bron gives her personal view of Shakespeare's play Much Ado About Nothing. In her introduction to the play...

Shakespeare In Perspective | Othello

Novelist Susan Hill offers her personal view of a play which illustrates one of Shakespeare's most obsessive themes: the conflict betwee...

Shakespeare In Perspective | Pericles

Poet P J Kavanagh offers his personal view of Shakespeare's play, which tells the story of a good man whose patient acceptance of life'...

Shakespeare In Perspective | Richard II

Paul Johnson offers a personal view of the play which, when produced in 1601, threatened the throne of England. The programme include...

Shakespeare In Perspective | Romeo and Juliet

Germaine Greer sets the scene for the televised production of Romeo and Juliet. To place Shakespeare In Perspective she travels...

Shakespeare In Perspective | A Comedy of Errors

Comedian Roy Hudd illustrates some of the timeless gags and comic routines that sharpen this comedy of mistaken identities. ...

Shakespeare In Perspective | The Merchant of Venice

Wolf Mankowitz gives a personal view of The Merchant of Venice which, 'more than any other in the English language, estab...

Shakespeare In Perspective | The Merry Wives of Windsor

Journalist Jilly Cooper presents a personal view of the play The Merry Wives of Windsor which she regards as 'a sort ...

Shakespeare In Perspective | The Taming of the Shrew

Penelope Mortimer, author of bestselling novel 'The Pumpkin Eater' offers her personal view of the 'wittie and pleasant ...

Shakespeare In Perspective | The Tempest

Laurens van der Post offers a personal view of the play The Tempest which he describes as profoundly autobiographical - an explorati...

Shakespeare In Perspective | The Two Gentlemen of Verona

Broadcaster Russell Davies introduces the production of The Two Gentlemen of Verona, a comedy of young love which of...

Shakespeare In Perspective | The Winter's Tale

Stephen Spender offers a personal view of Shakespeare's 'The Winter's Tale'.

Shakespeare In Perspective | Timon of Athens

Malcolm Muggeridge presents his personal view of Shakespeare's play Timon of Athens.

Shakespeare In Perspective | Titus Andronicus

Anthony Clare offers his personal view of the play which portrays the family as 'the source of all our strengths, the genesis o...

Shakespeare In Perspective | Troilus and Cressida

Sir David Hunt offers his personal view of Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida which he sees as a savage satire on war and a...

Shakespeare In Perspective | Twelfth Night, Or What You Will

David Jones offers a personal view of the play Twelfth Night, which he describes as 'full of fun and high spirit...