Synopsis
Shakespeare's rise to fortune and fame features in the third of Michael Wood 's four-part series. With Romeo and Juliet and A Midsummer Night's Dream he became England's top entertainer. But tragedy struck when his only son died aged 11. Plunged into a midlife crisis, Shakespeare fell for a teenage nobleman, had an affair with a married woman and was summonsed for GBH. Meanwhile, his theatre company built the Globe and, in the midst of it all, he created some of literature's most enduring characters.
Digging for Britain | Shakespeare's First Theatre
Alice visits excavations at Shakespeare's first theatre in London's Shoreditch, where the Bard began his career and Romeo and Juliet was first performed.
Arena | The National Theatre - Learning Zone
Made especially for schools, this version of the BBC Four Arena programme examines the history and purpose of the National Theatre as it celebrates its 50th anniversary. Short films on Othello and Hamlet, using both rehearsal and performance footage, consider how the National Theatre takes a contemporary approach to Shakespeare's work.