Synopsis
It's a truism that Shakespeare is as relevant today as ever. But some of his plays are regarded as problematic and recently the celebrated actress Juliet Stevenson requested that a couple of them ''should be buried''. Is she right? And which plays speak most powerfully to us? Juliet Stevenson and directors Abigail Graham - whose production of The Merchant of Venice is about to open at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse - and Justin Audibert join Samira.
Lenny and Will | Act Two
Pursuing his new-found enthusiasm, Lenny watches Sir Peter Hall in rehearsal for a triumphant Measure for Measure and even tries his own hand at Othello.
Front Row | Women and Shakespeare
And on Shakespeare's birthday, we discuss the women who made him as well as his female contemporaries with Charlotte Scott, from the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, and Rami Targoff author of Shakespeare's Sisters: Four Women Who Wrote the Renaissance.