Prefaces to Shakespeare | The Merchant of Venice

Prefaces to Shakespeare | A Midsummer Night's Dream

The actress, Frances De La Tour, who played Helena in Peter Brook's 1970 production for the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, St...

Prefaces to Shakespeare | All's Well That Ends Well

A personal introduction to the play by actor Sebastian Shaw, who played the King of France in the 1967 Royal Shakespeare ...

Prefaces to Shakespeare | Antony and Cleopatra

A personal introduction to the play by Barbara Jefford, who talks of her experience of playing Cleopatra in various production...

Prefaces to Shakespeare | As You Like It

Janet Suzman gives the third of six talks introducing the first season of Shakespeare's plays on BBC2. "In most plays people are dif...

Prefaces to Shakespeare | Coriolanus

Ian Hogg, who played the title role at Stratford ten years ago, presents his personal view of the play and the central character Coriola...

Prefaces to Shakespeare | Cymbeline

Jeffery Dench, actor and an associate artist of the Royal Shakespeare Company, introduces the play and characters. "We have Imogen at th...

Prefaces to Shakespeare | Hamlet

Derek Jacobi, who played Hamlet in the BBC TV production, gives a personal introduction to the play. He examines the many interpretations of...

Prefaces to Shakespeare | Henry IV Part I

Sir Michael Redgrave presents a personal view of Henry IV, Part 1, referring to Shakespeare's treatment of political loyalties. "I ...

Prefaces to Shakespeare | Henry IV Part II

The actor Anthony Quayle gives his personal view of Henry IV Part 2 and introduces this winter's season of Shakespeare's plays on ...

Prefaces to Shakespeare | Henry V

Robert Hardy, the actor and author, who has played Henry V and many other leading Shakespearean roles, presents a personal view of Henry V,...

Prefaces to Shakespeare | Henry VI

Actor Brewster Mason - who played Warwick in the RSC's 1963 version of the plays, The Wars of the Roses - gives a personal view of this ep...

Prefaces to Shakespeare | Henry VIII

Donald Sinden presents a personal view of Shakespeare's Henry VIII, referring to the politics of the age, and problems posed to the acto...

Prefaces to Shakespeare | Julius Caesar

The actor Ronald Pickup gives his personal view of Julius Caesar with commercial extracts. "I've never believed that Shakespeare has ...

Prefaces to Shakespeare | King John

Emrys James, who played King John at Stratford in 1974, presents a personal view of the play. "The action is a see-saw struggle for powe...

Prefaces to Shakespeare | King Lear

The actor Tony Church, who played the role of Lear for the Royal Shakespeare Company In 1974-5, gives his personal view of the play and i...

Prefaces to Shakespeare | Love's Labour's Lost

The actor Kenneth Branagh, who plays the King of Navarre in the RSC production at Stratford gives his personal view of Shakesp...

Prefaces to Shakespeare | Macbeth

A personal introduction to the play and its qualities by Sara Kestelman, who played Lady Macbeth in the 1983 Royal Shakespeare Company prod...

Prefaces to Shakespeare | Measure for Measure

Judi Dench presents a personal view of Measure For Measure, emphasising Shakespeare's depiction of characters as mixtures of go...

Prefaces to Shakespeare | Much Ado About Nothing

Kenneth Haigh, who played Benedick in 1976, presents a personal view of the play Much Ado About Nothing. Two weeks into the ...

Prefaces to Shakespeare | Othello

Bob Peck, a highly acclaimed lago in the 1980 production by the Royal Shakespeare Company, gives a personal view of the play's qualities an...

Prefaces to Shakespeare | Pericles

The actress Amanda Redman, who played the part of Marina in the BBC TV Shakespeare series, gives her personal view of Pericles, Prince of...

Prefaces to Shakespeare | Richard II

Ian Richardson presents a personal view of King Richard II and the characters in the Shakespeare play. These talks were given as curtain...

Prefaces to Shakespeare | Romeo and Juliet

Dame Peggy Ashcroft presents her personal view of Romeo and Juliet, with archive and commercial extracts. There are references to ...

Prefaces to Shakespeare | The Comedy of Errors

The actor Roger Rees, who starred in Trevor Nunn's highly popular musical version of the play in 1977, gives a personal view o...

Prefaces to Shakespeare | The Merchant of Venice

A personal introduction to the play and its characters by Timothy West, who played Shylock in the 1980 Old Vic production of...

Prefaces to Shakespeare | The Merry Wives of Windsor

Actress Prunella Scales, who plays the role of Mistress Page in the BBC TV Shakespeare series production, gives her pers...

Prefaces to Shakespeare | The Taming of the Shrew

Paola Dionisotti gives her personal views of the play which she sees as an intricate weave of farce and wit shot with black...

Prefaces to Shakespeare | The Tempest

A personal introduction to The Tempest by actor Michael Hordern, who played Prospero in the BBC TV Shakespeare production. "I would wis...

Prefaces to Shakespeare | The Tragedy of Richard the Third

Edward Woodward, who recently played the title role of King Richard III in a much-praised production, gives his pe...

Prefaces to Shakespeare | The Two Gentlemen of Verona

The actor Geoffrey Hutchings gives his personal view of Shakespeare's The Two Gentlemen of Verona.

Prefaces to Shakespeare | The Winter's Tale

A personal introduction to the play by the actress Anna Calder-Marshall, who played Hermione in the BBC TV Shakespeare production.

Prefaces to Shakespeare | Timon of Athens

A personal introduction to the play by Richard Pasco, who played the title role for the 1980 Royal Shakespeare Company production a...

Prefaces to Shakespeare | Titus Andronicus

The actor, Patrick Stewart, gives his personal view of Titus Andronicus and the difficulty of playing the character of Titus.

Prefaces to Shakespeare | Troilus and Cressida

Norman Rodway, a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, gives a personal view of this very 'modern' play which hovers betwee...

Prefaces to Shakespeare | Twelfth Night

Dorothy Tutin, who played the part of Viola in Peter Hall's production at Stratford in 1958, presents a personal view of Twelfth Night.