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...

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 and Juliet (2015)

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 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 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 (2011)

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...

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 | 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 | 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 | Twelfth Night

Trevor Nunn's film version of William Shakespeare's mature comedy. Twins Viola and Sebastian are shipwrecked on different parts of the same coast...

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...

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.

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...

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...

The Learning Zone | The Merchant of Venice

Schools programme on The Merchant of Venice.

Shakespeare Unlocked | A Midsummer Night's Dream

Key scenes from A Midsummer Night's Dream are explored through performance, to unlock the meaning of language and developmen...

Shakespeare Unlocked | Julius Caesar

Shakespeare's most popular and widely studied plays are unlocked by actors and directors at the Royal Shakespeare Company. Three key sce...

Shakespeare Unlocked | Macbeth

Shakespeare's most popular and widely studied plays are unlocked by actors and directors at the Royal Shakespeare Company. Key scenes from Mac...

The Learning Zone | Film Education: Screening Shakespeare

A late night film education programme looking at film makers' fascination with Shakespeare.

The Learning Zone Film Education | Screening Shakespeare - Romeo and Juliet

Transplanting Shakespeare's star crossed lovers to the gun-obsessed energy of Verona Beach. The p...

English File | The Globe

A compilation secondary schools programme focusing on a stunning recreation of what it was like to experience Shakespeare's work in the famous Globe...

The Learning Zone | GCSE Bitesize Revision: English: 1: Macbeth

An exam revision programme that looks at the GCSE English curriculum. This episode looks at Shakespeare's Mac...

The Learning Zone | Shakespeare: From Stage To Screen

A behind-the-scenes look at creating a TV programme from a stage play, following the filming of the Royal Shakespeare C...

The Learning Zone | Shakespeare: From Page To Stage

Actors and key talent from the Royal Shakespeare Company discuss the choices they make when staging Hamlet.

The Learning Zone | Shakespeare: The Play's The Thing

Educational documentary with actors from the Royal Shakespeare Company and theatre director Greg Doran looking behind t...

BBC Teach Live Lessons | Shakespeare

This Live Lesson brings together Horrible Histories Tom Stourton and Rhys Stevenson to find out how the Tudor era affected The Bard's wr...

Bitesize Daily: 5-7 Years: English | Shakespeare

Shakespeare, cities and Ella Bella Ballerina in Book Club.

Bitesize Daily: 5-7 Years: English | Magical Forests

Magical forests in Shakespeare and discovering the super-you.

Bitesize Daily: 7-9 Years: English | A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Shakespeare, cities, rivers and A Midsummer Night's Dream in Book Club.

Bitesize Daily: 9-11 Years: English | Shakespeare

Shakespeare, wildlife in cities and Macbeth.

Bitesize Daily: 9-11 Years: English | Magic

Magic in Shakespeare and discovering our character strengths.

CBeebies Presents | Romeo and Juliet

William Shakespeare is back on CBeebies with an adaptation of one of his most famous plays, Romeo and Juliet. With the help of a host of...

CBeebies Presents | The Tempest

A magic island, a stormy shipwreck and a royal mystery in CBeebies The Tempest!

CBeebies Presents | A Midsummer Night's Dream

Children's drama: Cook and Line from Swashbuckle help William Shakespeare put on a magical production of A Midsummer Night's Dr...

Horrible Histories with Stephen Fry | S1E1

Stephen Fry presents the best sketches from the historical comedy series: King Charles II raps about his party lifestyle, Helen of...

Horrible Histories Specials | Sensational Shakespeare

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

How to be Epic @ Shakespeare

Children's programme narrated by Cel Spellman: marking 400 years since the death of the world's greatest playwright, the programme presents a se...

i.am.will Shakespeare

Education programme: Ricky Boleto and Leah Gooding go in search of William Shakespeare. They find out about Shakespeare's early life in Stratford-upon-...

Magic Hands | A Midsummer Night's Dream - Fabulous Fairies

Poetry programme for pre-school children: A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare. To celebrate the 400-y...

Magic Hands | As You Like It - All the World's a Stage

Pre-school children's arts and animated disability programme: to celebrate the 400-year legacy of Shakespeare, Ashley ...

Magic Hands | Romeo and Juliet - Fighting Families

Children's sign language poetry series: to celebrate the 400-year legacy of William Shakespeare, Donna and Simon discover ...

Magic Hands | The Tempest - A Magical Storm

Pre-school children's arts and animated disability programme: The Tempest by William Shakespeare. To celebrate the 400-year legac...

Magic Hands | Twelfth Night - Identical Twins?

Pre-school children's arts and animated disability programme: Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare. To celebrate the 400th ann...

Play School | 22/05/1984

Programme for young children presented by Floella Benjamin and Stuart Bradley. The story today is 'Mr and Mrs Potters Window Box' by Sheila Collins....

Acting in the Sixties | Dorothy Tutin

A series of programmes in which leading young actors of the theatre, cinema, and television discuss their start in the profession, the ...

Acting in the Sixties | Vanessa Redgrave

A series of programmes in which leading young actors of the theatre, cinema, and television discuss their start in the profession, t...

BBC News | Mawa Theatre Company

Mawa Theatre Company is a UK first. The all Black, all female group aims to make Shakespeare's work more accessible for audiences.

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 ...

Face to Face | Dame Edith Sitwell

Dame Edith Sitwell reads a sequence of poems chosen from a recital she gave at the Edinburgh Festival. These include 'Take, O, take those l...

Judi Dench | All The World's Her Stage

An intimate portrait of Judi Dench, one of the most outstanding and best loved British actors of all time, told by some of the biggest...

Redefining Juliet

Six actors with differences or disabilities - tall, small, large, deaf, limbless or wheelchair using - play Juliet in scenes from Shakespeare's Romeo and J...

Shakespeare's Mother | The Secret Life of A Tudor Woman

Michael Wood tells the extraordinary story of an ordinary woman in a time of revolution. Born under Henry VIII, Mary ...

Shakespeare Shorts | Sanity and Insanity - Playing Lady Macbeth

Each programme in this series takes scenes from Shakespeare's Macbeth. In this programme they are Act 5, Scen...