Play over 1000 programmes from the BBC’s archive of Shakespeare’s plays, poems and sonnets.
Royal Shakespeare Company | 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, murder ...
Royal Shakespeare Company | Macbeth
Shakespeare’s darkest psychological thriller. Returning home from battle, the victorious Macbeth meets three witches on the heath. Driven...
Royal Shakespeare Company | Much Ado About Nothing
Autumn 1918: a group of soldiers return from the trenches, and the world-weary Benedick and his friend Claudio find themse...
Royal Shakespeare Company | 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 plot in th...
Royal Shakespeare Company | 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, two you...
Royal Shakespeare Company | 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 between Bassani...
Henry V from Shakespeare's Globe
A performance of Shakespeare’s great history play from the Globe Theatre.
Macbeth (2007)
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 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 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 (2017)
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...
The Merchant of Venice (2013)
An adaptation of Shakespeare's play about a Jewish moneylender who seeks to forfeit a literal pound of flesh from his Christian nemesis. Starri...
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.
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
Comedy video shorts presenting the characters, plot and themes from Hamlet and The Merchant of Venice. Presented by Jack Whitehall and Mark Steel...
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...
Secondary Schools English | 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...
The Learning Zone | English
A compilation secondary schools programme focussing on key scenes from Twelfth Night to discuss characters and drama and a stunning recreation of...
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 ...
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 Shakespeare Special | The Tempest
A magic island, a stormy shipwreck and a royal mystery in CBeebies The Tempest!
Cbeebies | 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 Dream at th...
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
Programme for young children presented by Floella Benjamin and Stuart Bradley. The story today is 'Mr and Mrs Potters Window Box' by Sheila Collins. The poem of ...
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...
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