BBC Television Shakespeare

The BBC Television Shakespeare was a set of television adaptations of the plays of William Shakespeare, produced by the BBC between 1978 and 1985.

==Introduction ==

Origins
The concept for the series originated in 1976 with Cedric Messina, a veteran BBC producer, who was on-location at Glamis Castle in Angus, Scotland shooting J.M. Barrie's The Little Minister for the BBC Play of the Month series. During filming, it occurred to Messina that the castle would make a perfect location for an adaptation of Shakespeare's As You Like It for the series. By the time he had returned to London, however, the concept had grown considerably, and Messina now envisioned an entire series devoted exclusively to the dramatic work of Shakespeare; a series which would adapt all thirty-seven of Shakespeare's plays.

At first, Messina envisioned the series as having six seasons of six episodes each, with the plan being to adapt the three Henry VI plays into a two-part episode. This idea was soon rejected however, as it was felt to be an unacceptable compromise, and it was decided to simply have one season with seven episodes. Initially, Messina also wanted to shoot the plays in chronological order of how they were written, but this was rejected because it was felt that doing so would necessitate the series beginning with a run of relatively little known plays. Another early concept of Messina's which had to be rejected was the idea of shooting the eight sequential history plays (Richard II, Henry IV, Part 1, Henry IV, Part 2, Henry V, Henry VI, Part 1, Henry VI, Part 2, Henry VI, Part 3 and Richard III) in chronological order of the events they depict, with linked casting and the same director for all eight adaptations (David Giles). During the early planning stages for Richard II and Henry IV, Part 1 however, the plan for linked casting fell apart when it was discovered that although Jon Finch (Henry Bolingbroke in Richard II) could return as Henry IV, Jeremy Bulloch as Henry 'Hotspur' Percy and David Swift as the Earl of Northumberland were unable to do so, and the parts had to be recast, thus undermining the concept of shooting the plays as one sequence. Ultimately, during the first season, Richard II, although still directed by Giles, was treated as a stand-alone piece, whilst Henry IV, Part 1, Henry IV, Part 2 and Henry V (all also directed by Giles) were treated as a trilogy during the second season, with linked casting between them. The second four plays were then directed by Jane Howell during the fifth season as one unit, with a common set and linked casting, with most of the cast playing multiple roles in the four plays. For example, Ron Cook, who played Richard III, also appeared in minor roles in Henry VI, Part 1 and Henry VI, Part 2.

Shakespeare on the BBC
The BBC had screened many Shakespearean adaptations before, but never on this scale. The first broadcast was on the afternoon of 5 February 1937; an eleven-minute scene from As You Like It, directed by Robert Atkins with Margaretta Scott as Rosalind and Ion Swinley as Orlando. Later that evening, a fourteen-minute segment from the wooing scene of Henry V was screened, directed by George More O'Ferrall and starring Henry Oscar as Henry and Yvonne Arnaud as Katherine. O'Ferrall would oversee numerous productions of Shakespeare over the course of 1937; a ten-minute excerpt from Mark Antony's funeral speech in Julius Caesar, starring Henry Oscar (11 February); a ten-minute excerpt from Much Ado About Nothing with Henry Oscar as Benedick and Margaretta Scott as Beatrice (also 11 February); a twenty-five minute extract from Macbeth, with Henry Oscar as Macbeth and Margaret Rawlings as Lady Macbeth (25 March); a thirty-minute extract from Twelfth Night, with John Wyse as Orsino and Greer Garson as Olivia (14 May); and a sixty seven-minute extract from Othello starring Baliol Holloway as Othello, D.A. Clarke-Smith as Iago and Celia Johnson as Desdemona. O’Ferrall also produced a 1938 broadcast of a live thirty-minute extract from an Old Vic production of Macbeth, directed by Michel Saint-Denis and starring Laurence Olivier and Judith Anderson. 1938 also saw the first full-length broadcast of a Shakespeare play; Dallas Bower's modern dress production of Julius Caesar at the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre starring Ernest Milton as Caesar and D.A. Clark-Smith as Mark Antony. These transmissions came to an end with the onset of war in 1939 and none of them survive now.

After the war, Shakespearean adaptations were screened less frequently, although there were numerous live transmissions of actual plays; for example, a one hundred-minute abridged version of Orson Welles' legendary modern dress Mercury Theatre production of Julius Caesar, starring Welles himself; a twenty five-minute extract from Stephen Thomas' Regent's Park production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, starring Alexander Knox as Oberon and Thea Holme as Titiana; and a one hundred and forty-minute version of Dallas Bower's production of The Tempest, with Peggy Ashcroft as Miranda and John Abbott as Prospero. In 1948, George More O'Ferrall directed and produced a made-for-TV two-part adaptation of Hamlet with John Byron as Hamlet, Sebastian Shaw as Claudius, Margaret Rawlings as Gertrude and Muriel Pavlow as Ophelia.

There were also three multi-part Shakespearean adaptations shown during the 1950s and 1960s. The first was The Life and Death of Sir John Falstaff (1959). Produced and directed by Ronald Eyre and starring Roger Livesey as Falstaff, the series took all of the Falstaff scenes from the Henry IV plays and The Merry Wives of Windsor and adapted them into seven half-hour episodes. The second was An Age of Kings (1960). Produced by Peter Dews and directed by Michael Hayes, the show comprised fifteen one-hour episodes which adapted all eight of Shakespeare's sequential history plays. The third was the Peter Dews produced The Spread of the Eagle (1963), which featured nine one-hour episodes adapting, in chronological order of the real life events, Coriolanus, Julius Caesar and Antony and Cleopatra.

However, The Spread of the Eagle was not a huge success, and afterwards, the BBC returned to smaller screenings with less financial risk. In 1964, for example, the John Barton adaptation of the three Henry VI plays and Richard III into a three-parter called The Wars of the Roses by the Royal Shakespeare Company was aired over a four-week period. Another 1964 production was Hamlet at Elsinore, directed by Philip Saville and produced by Peter Luke. Starring Christopher Plummer as Hamlet, Robert Shaw as Claudius, Michael Caine as Horatio and Donald Sutherland as Fortinbras, the entire play was shot on-location in Denmark at the real Elsinore Castle. Additionally, The Play of the Month series screened several Shakespearian adaptations over the years; Romeo and Juliet (1967), The Tempest (1968), Julius Caesar (1969), Macbeth (1970), A Midsummer Night's Dream (1971), The Merchant of Venice (1972), Love's Labour's Lost (1974) and King Lear (1975).

Production
As such, the BBC Television Shakespeare project was the most ambitious engagement with Shakespeare ever undertaken by either a television or film production company. So large was the project that the BBC couldn't finance it alone and required an American partner who would guarantee access to the United States market, deemed essential for the series to recoup its costs. Financing took over two years to secure, with Time–Life acting as the series' largest underwriter. Later, Exxon, Metropolitan Life and Morgan Guaranty Trust also provided financing. However, because they had invested so much in the project, the backers were able to suggest terms.

The most important of these was that the productions must be traditional interpretations of the plays set in either Shakespeare's time (1564 to 1616) or in the period of the events depicted (such as ancient Rome for Julius Caesar or c1400 for Richard II). A two and a half hour maximum running time was also required but this was swiftly jettisoned when it became clear that the major tragedies in particular would have suffered severely if truncated too heavily. The restriction regarding conservative interpretations was non-negotiable. The financiers were primarily concerned with ratings and the restrictions worked to this end, ensuring the plays had "maximum acceptability to the widest possible audience." Partly because of this, although later productions under Messina's successors Jonathan Miller and Shaun Sutton, would be more experimental, in its early years the series developed a reputation for being overly conventional. Later in the series when Miller tried to persuade directors such as Peter Brook, Ingmar Bergman, William Gaskill and John Dexter to direct adaptations, he failed.

During Messina's tenure as producer (seasons one and two), as per the financiers' restrictions the adaptations tended to be conservative, but when Jonathan Miller took over at the start of season three, he revamped things. Messina had favoured a broadly 'realistic' approach which worked to simplify the texts for audiences unfamiliar with Shakespeare. Miller was against dilution. According to Martin Wiggins, Miller came from, "outside the BBC's tradition of painstaking research and accurate historical verisimilitude. Messina's approach had treated the plays in realistic terms as events which had once taken place and which could be literally represented on screen. Miller saw them as products of a creative imagination, artefacts in their own right to be realised in production using the visual and conceptual materials of their period. This led to a major reappraisal of the original production guidelines.'" A change by Miller that was met with great delight by directors was his tendency to encourage the adaptations to be more adventurous than Messina had permitted, pushing the definition of "traditional". Miller adopted a visual and design policy of sets and costumes inspired by great paintings of the era in which the play were written, though the style was dominated by the post-Shakespearean 17th century artists Johannes Vermeer and Rembrandt. This allowed directors to stamp more of their aesthetic credo on the productions. Miller's aesthetic policies continued under Shaun Sutton who took over at the start of season six. The project was Sutton's retirement job after twelve years as the head of BBC Drama and he was under strict orders to bring the series to a close as it had run over by twelve months during Miller's reign. Sutton was successful and the series closed with a broadcast of Titus Andronicus roughly twelve months late. Messina's gamble in 1978 proved successful as the series was a financial success, having more than broken even by 1982.

All productions were shot on video with multiple cameras in Studio 1 at the BBC Television Centre studios, with the exception of two first season episodes, As You Like It and Henry VIII, which were shot on location. Also worth noting is that composer William Walton, who had scored Olivier's three Shakespearean films (Henry V, Hamlet and Richard III) came out of retirement to write the theme music for the show.

Romeo and Juliet

 * Directed by Alvin Rakoff
 * Taping dates: 31 January-5 February 1978
 * First transmitted in the UK: 3 December 1978
 * First transmitted in the US: 14 March 1979
 * Patrick Ryecart as Romeo
 * Rebecca Saire as Juliet
 * Celia Johnson as the Nurse
 * Michael Hordern as Lord Capulet
 * John Gielgud as the Chorus
 * Anthony Andrews as Mercutio
 * Alan Rickman as Tybalt
 * Joseph O'Conor as Friar Laurence
 * Laurence Naismith as Prince Escalus
 * Jacqueline Hill as Lady Capulet
 * Christopher Strauli as Benvolio
 * Christopher Northey as Paris
 * Peter Henry as Peter
 * Roger Davidson as Balthasar
 * John Paul as Montague
 * Zulema Dene as Lady Montague
 * Esmond Knight as Old Capulet
 * David Sibley as Samson
 * Jack Carr as Gregory
 * Bunny Reed as Abraham
 * Vernon Dobtcheff as Apothecary
 * John Savident as Friar John

Behind-the-scenes
Rebecca Saire was only fourteen when the production was filmed, an unusually young age for an actress playing Juliet (even though she is only thirteen in the play itself).

King Richard the Second

 * Directed by David Giles
 * Taping dates: 12–17 April 1978
 * First transmitted in the UK: 10 December 1978
 * First transmitted in the US: 28 March 1979
 * Derek Jacobi as Richard II
 * Jon Finch as Henry Bolingbroke
 * John Gielgud as John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster
 * Charles Gray as Edmund Langley, Duke of York
 * Wendy Hiller as the Duchess of York
 * Mary Morris as the Duchess of Gloucester
 * David Swift as the Duke of Northumberland
 * Clifford Rose as the Bishop of Carlisle
 * Charles Keating as Duke of Aumerle
 * Richard Owens as Thomas Mowbray
 * Janet Maw as the Queen
 * Jeffrey Holland as the Duke of Surrey
 * Jeremy Bulloch as Henry 'Hotspur' Percy
 * Robin Sachs as Bushy
 * Damien Thomas as Bagot
 * Alan Dalton as Green
 * David Dodimead as Lord Ross
 * John Flint as Lord Willoughby
 * Carl Oatley as Earl Berkeley
 * William Whymper as Sir Stephen Scroop
 * John Barcroft as Earl of Salisbury
 * David Garfield as Welsh Captain
 * Desmond Adams as Sir Pierce of Exton
 * Bruno Barnabe as Abbot of Westminster
 * Jonathan Adams as Gardener
 * Alan Collins as Gardener's Man
 * John Curless as Lord Fitzwater
 * Terry Wright as Murderer

As You Like It

 * Directed by Basil Coleman
 * Taping dates: 30 May-16 June 1978
 * First transmitted in the UK: 17 December 1978
 * First transmitted in the US: 28 February 1979
 * Helen Mirren as Rosalind
 * Brian Stirner as Orlando
 * Richard Pasco as Jaques
 * Angharad Rees as Celia
 * James Bolam as Touchstone
 * Clive Francis as Oliver
 * Richard Easton as Duke Frederick
 * Tony Church as Duke Senior
 * John Quentin as Le Beau
 * Maynard Williams as Silvius
 * Victoria Plucknett as Phebe
 * Marilyn Le Conte as Audrey
 * Tom McDonnell as Amiens
 * David Lloyd Meredith as Corin
 * Arthur Hewlett as Adam
 * Jeffrey Holland as William
 * Timothy Bateson as Sir Oliver Martext
 * David Prowse as Charles the Wrestler
 * John Moulder-Brown as Hyman
 * Paul Bentall as Jacques de Boys
 * Chris Sullivan as Dennis

Behind-the-scenes
Filmed at Glamis Castle in Scotland, this was one of only two productions shot on location, the other being Henry VIII. Director Basil Colemen initially felt that the play should be filmed over the course of a year, with the change in seasons from winter to summer marking the ideological change in characters, but he was forced to shoot entirely in May, even though the play begins in winter.

Julius Caesar

 * Directed by Herbert Wise
 * Taping dates: 26–31 July 1978
 * First transmitted in UK: 11 February 1979
 * First transmitted in the US: 14 February 1979
 * Richard Pasco as Brutus
 * Charles Gray as Julius Caesar
 * Keith Michell as Marcus Antonius
 * David Collings as Cassius
 * Virginia McKenna as Portia
 * Elizabeth Spriggs as Calpurnia
 * Sam Dastor as Casca
 * Jon Laurimore as Flavius
 * John Sterland as Marullus
 * Garrick Hagon as Octavius Caesar
 * Brian Coburn as Messala
 * Leonard Preston as Titinius
 * Alexander Davion as Decius Brutus
 * Darien Angadi as Cinna
 * Andrew Hilton as Lucilius
 * Anthony Dawes as Ligarius
 * Roger Bizley as Metellus Cimber
 * Manning Wilson as Cicero
 * Ronald Forfar as The Soothsayer
 * Patrick Marley as Artemidorus
 * William Simons as Trebonius
 * John Tordoff as Cinna the Poet
 * Philip York as Young Cato
 * Christopher Good as Clitus
 * Robert Oates as Pindarus
 * Jonathan Scott-Taylor as Lucius
 * Maurice Thorogood as Strato
 * Michael Greatorex as Varro
 * Nicholas Gecks as Volumnius
 * Michael Jenkinson as Dardanius
 * Roy Spencer as Lepidus
 * Terence Conoley as Popilius
 * Noel Johnson as Publius

Behind-the-scenes
Director Herbert Wise felt that Julius Caesar should be set in the Elizabethan era, but he was compelled by the financiers to set it in a Roman milieu. Wise felt that Shakespeare had written the play specifically as a commentary on Elizabethan culture, and that interpreting it literally as being a play about Ancient Rome trivialised the story.

Measure for Measure

 * Directed by Desmond Davis
 * Taping dates: 17–22 May 1978
 * First transmitted in the UK: 18 February 1979
 * First transmitted in the US: 11 April 1979
 * Kenneth Colley as the Duke
 * Kate Nelligan as Isabella
 * Tim Pigott-Smith as Angelo
 * Christopher Strauli as Claudio
 * John McEnery as Lucio
 * Jacqueline Pearce as Mariana
 * Frank Middlemass as Pompey
 * Alun Armstrong as Provost
 * Adrienne Corri as Mistress Overdone
 * Ellis Jones as Elbow
 * John Clegg as Froth
 * William Sleigh as Barnardine
 * Neil McCarthy as Abhorson
 * Yolanda Vazquez as Juliet
 * Eileen Page as Francesca
 * Kevin Stoney as Escalus
 * Godfrey Jackman as Friar Thomas

Behind-the-scenes
Director Desmond Davis based the brothel in the play on a traditional Western saloon and the prison on a typical horror film dungeon.

The Famous History of the Life of King Henry the Eight

 * Directed by Kevin Billington
 * Taping dates: 27 November 1978 – 7 January 1979
 * First transmitted in UK, 25 February 1979
 * First transmitted in the US: 25 April 1979
 * John Stride as Henry VIII
 * Claire Bloom as Katharine
 * Ronald Pickup as Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury
 * Barbara Kellerman as Anne Bullen
 * Timothy West as Cardinal Wolsey
 * Julian Glover as the Duke of Buckingham
 * John Rowe as Cromwell
 * Lewis Fiander as the Duke of Suffolk
 * Alan Leith as Sergeant-at-Arms
 * Tony Church as Prologue
 * John Bailey as Griffith
 * David Troughton as Surveyor
 * John Nettleton as Lord Chamberlain
 * Charles Lloyd Pack as Lord Sandys
 * Nigel Lambert as Sir Thomas Lovell
 * Adam Bareham as Sir Henry Guildford
 * Jeremy Kemp as the Duke of Norfolk
 * Jack McKenzie as Sir Nicholas Vaux
 * Michael Poole as Cardinal Campeius
 * Peter Vaughan as Gardiner, Bishop of Winchester
 * David Rintoul as Lord Abergavenny
 * David Dodimead as the Bishop of Lincoln
 * Oliver Cotton as the Earl of Surrey
 * John Rhys-Davies as Capucius
 * John Rogan as Dr. Butts
 * Jack May as the Lord Chancellor

Behind-the-scenes
Shot at Leeds Castle, Penhurst Place and Hever Castle and in the actual rooms in which some of the real events took place.

The First Part of King Henry the Fourth, with the life and death of Henry surnamed Hotspur

 * Directed by David Giles
 * Taping dates: 7–12 March 1979
 * First transmitted in the UK: 9 December 1979
 * First transmitted in the US: 26 March 1980
 * Anthony Quayle as Sir John Falstaff
 * Jon Finch as King Henry the Fourth
 * David Gwillim as Hal, Prince of Wales
 * Tim Pigott-Smith as Henry 'Hotspur' Percy
 * Michele Dotrice as Lady Percy
 * Brenda Bruce as Mistress Quickly
 * Rob Edwards as Prince John of Lancaster
 * David Buck as the Earl of Westmorland
 * Robert Brown as Sir Walter Blunt
 * Clive Swift as Thomas Percy, Earl of Worcester
 * Bruce Purchase as Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland
 * Robert Morris as Edmund Mortimer, Earl of March
 * John Cairney as Archibald, Earl of Douglas
 * David Neal as Scroop, Archbishop of York
 * Norman Rutherford as Sir Michael
 * Richard Owens as Owen Glendower
 * Terence Wilton as Sir Richard Vernon
 * Jack Galloway as Poins
 * Gordon Gostelow as Bardolph
 * Steven Beard as Peto
 * Sharon Morgan as Lady Mortimer

The Second Part of King Henry the Fourth, including his death and the coronation of King Henry the Fift

 * Directed by David Giles
 * Taping dates: 11–16 April 1979
 * First transmitted in the UK: 16 December 1979
 * First transmitted in the US: 9 April 1980
 * Jon Finch as King Henry the Fourth
 * David Gwillim as Prince Henry of Wales
 * Rob Edwards as Prince John of Lancaster
 * Martin Neil as Prince Humphrey of Gloucester
 * Roger Davenport as Prince Thomas, Duke of Clarence
 * Bruce Purchase as the Earl of Northumberland
 * David Neal as Scroop, Archbishop of York
 * Michael Miller as Lord Mowbray
 * Richard Bebb as Lord Hastings
 * John Humphry as Lord Bardolph
 * Salvin Stewart as Sir John Colville
 * David Strong as Travers
 * Carl Oatley as Morton
 * Rod Beacham as the Earl of Warwick
 * David Buck as the Earl of Westmorland
 * Brian Poyser as Gower
 * Ralph Michael as the Lord Chief Justice
 * Anthony Quayle as Sir John Falstaff
 * Jack Galloway as Poins
 * Gordon Gostelow as Bardolph
 * Bryan Pringle as Pistol
 * Steven Beard as Peto
 * Robert Eddison as Justice Robert Shallow
 * Leslie French as Justice Silence
 * Raymond Platt as Davy
 * Frederick Proud as Fang
 * Julian Battersby as Ralph Mouldy
 * Roy Herrick as Simon Shadow
 * Alan Collins as Thomas Wart
 * John Tordoff as Francis Feeble
 * Roger Elliott as Peter Bullcalf
 * Jenny Laird as Lady Northumberland
 * Michele Dotrice as Lady Percy
 * Brenda Bruce as Mistress Quickly
 * Frances Cuka as Doll Tearsheet

The Life of Henry the Fift

 * Directed by David Giles
 * Taping dates: 18–25 June 1979
 * First transmitted in the UK: 23 December 1979
 * First transmitted in the US: 23 April 1980
 * John Abineri as the Bishop of Ely
 * Robert Ashby as the Earl of Salisbury
 * Trevor Baxter as the Archbishop of Canterbury
 * Rob Beacham as the Earl of Warwick
 * Jocelyne Boisseau as Princess Katherine
 * Alan Brown as the Governor of Harfleur
 * John Bryans as the Duke of Bourbon
 * David Buck as the Earl of Westmoreland
 * Roger Davenport as the Duke of Clarence
 * Keith Drinkel as Lewis the Dauphin
 * Rob Edwards as the Duke of Bedford
 * Ronald Forfar as Bates
 * Carl Forgione as Rambures
 * John Fowler as the Boy
 * Julian Glover as the Constable of France
 * Gordon Gostelow as Bardolph
 * David Gwillim as Henry V
 * Garrick Hagon as Mountjoy
 * Robert Harris as the Duke of Burgundy
 * Jeffrey Holland as Nym
 * Derek Hollis as the Duke of York
 * George Howe as Sir Thomas Erpingham
 * Alec McCowen as Chorus
 * Michael McKevitt as Jamy
 * Clifford Parrish as the Duke of Exeter
 * David Pinner as Williams
 * Brian Poyser as Gower
 * Ian Price as Scrope
 * Bryan Pringle as Pistol
 * Anna Quayle as Alice
 * David Rowlands as Sir Thomas Grey
 * Pamela Ruddock as Queen Isabel
 * John Saunders as the Duke of Orléans
 * Martin Smith as the Duke of Gloucester
 * Thorley Walters as the King of France
 * Paddy Ward as Macmorris
 * William Whymper as the Earl of Cambridge
 * Tim Wylton as Fluellen
 * Brenda Bruce as Mistress Quickly

Twelfth Night

 * Directed by John Gorrie
 * Taping dates: 16–21 May 1979
 * First transmitted in the UK: 6 January 1980
 * First transmitted in the US: 27 February 1980
 * Alec McCowen as Malvolio
 * Robert Hardy as Sir Toby Belch
 * Felicity Kendal as Viola
 * Annette Crosbie as Maria
 * Sinéad Cusack as Olivia
 * Trevor Peacock as Feste
 * Clive Arrindell as Orsino
 * Ronnie Stevens as Sir Andrew Aguecheek
 * Robert Lindsay as Fabian
 * Maurice Roëves as Antonio
 * Michael Thomas as Sebastian
 * Malcolm Reynolds as Valentine
 * Ryan Michael as Curio
 * Ric Morgan as the Sea Captain
 * Arthur Hewlett as the Priest

Behind-the-scenes
Director John Gorrie interpreted the play as an English country house comedy, and incorporated influences ranging from Luigi Pirandello's Il Gioco delle Parti to ITV's Upstairs, Downstairs. Gorrie also set the play during the English Civil War, hoping the use of cavaliers and roundheads would help focus the dramatisation of the conflict between festivity and Puritanism.

The Tempest

 * Directed by John Gorrie
 * Taping dates: 23–28 July 1979
 * First transmitted in the UK: 27 February 1980
 * First transmitted in the US: 7 May 1980
 * Michael Hordern as Prospero
 * Derek Godfrey as Antonio
 * David Waller as Alonso
 * Warren Clarke as Caliban
 * Nigel Hawthorne as Stephano
 * David Dixon as Ariel
 * Andrew Sachs as Trinculo
 * John Nettleton as Gonzalo
 * Alan Rowe as Sebastian
 * Pippa Guard as Miranda
 * Christopher Guard as Ferdinand
 * Kenneth Gilbert as Boatswain
 * Edwin Brown as Master
 * Paul Greenhalgh as Francisco
 * Christopher Bramwell as Adrian
 * Gwyneth Lloyd as Juno
 * Elizabeth Gardner as Ceres
 * Judith Rees as Iris

Behind-the-scenes
The special effects seen in this episode were not developed especially for use here. They had been developed for Top of the Pops and Doctor Who.

Hamlet, Prince of Denmark

 * Directed by Rodney Bennett
 * Taping dates: 31 January-8 February 1980
 * First transmitted in the UK: 25 May 1980
 * First transmitted in the US: 10 November 1980
 * Derek Jacobi as Hamlet
 * Claire Bloom as Gertrude
 * Patrick Stewart as Claudius
 * Eric Porter as Polonius
 * Lalla Ward as Ophelia
 * David Robb as Laertes
 * Patrick Allen as the Ghost of Hamlet's Father
 * Robert Swann as Horatio
 * Jonathan Hyde as Rosencrantz
 * Geoffrey Bateman as Guildenstern
 * Emrys James as Player King
 * Jason Kemp as Player Queen
 * Ian Charleson as Fortinbras
 * Tim Wylton as First Gravedigger
 * Peter Benson as Second Gravedigger
 * Paul Humpoletz as Marcellus
 * Niall Padden as Bernardo
 * Christopher Baines as Francisco
 * John Humphry as Voltimand
 * John Sterland as Cornelius
 * Peter Gale as Osric
 * Raymond Mason as Reynaldo
 * Dan Meaden as Norwegian Captain
 * David Henry as English Ambassador

The Taming of the Shrew

 * Directed by Jonathan Miller
 * Taping dates: 18–24 June 1980
 * First transmitted in the UK: 23 October 1980
 * First transmitted in the US: 26 January 1981
 * Simon Chandler as Lucentio
 * Anthony Pedley as Tranio
 * John Franklyn-Robbins as Baptista
 * Frank Thornton as Gremio
 * Sarah Badel as Katherine
 * Jonathan Cecil as Hortensio
 * Susan Penhaligon as Bianca
 * Harry Waters as Biondello
 * John Cleese as Petruchio
 * David Kincaid as Grumio
 * Bev Willis as Baptista's Servant
 * Angus Lennie as Curtis
 * Harry Webster as Nathaniel
 * Gil Morris as Philip
 * Leslie Sarony as Gregory
 * Derek Deadman as Nicholas
 * Denis Gilmore as Peter
 * John Bird as Pedant
 * Alan Hay as Tailor
 * David Kinsey as Haberdasher
 * John Barron as Vincentio
 * Joan Hickson as Widow
 * Tony Martell as Officer

Behind-the-scenes
The casting of John Cleese as Petruchio was not without controversy at the time. Cleese had never performed Shakespeare before, and was not a fan of the first two seasons of the BBC Television Shakespeare, and took some persuading from Miller that the BBC Shrew would not be, as Cleese feared "about a lot of furniture being knocked over, a lot of wine being spilled, a lot of thighs being slapped and a lot of unmotivated laughter." As such, Miller told Cleese that the episode would interpret Petruchio as an early Puritan, and that the part was not to be acted along the traditional lines of the swaggering bully a la Richard Burton in Franco Zeffirelli's adaptation. In tandem with this interpretation, the song sung at the end of the play is a musical version of Psalm 128, which was often sung in Puritan households at the end of a meal during Shakespeare's own day.

The Merchant of Venice

 * Directed by Jack Gold
 * Taping dates: 15–21 May 1980
 * First transmitted in the UK: 17 December 1980
 * First transmitted in the US: 23 February 1981
 * John Franklyn-Robbins as Antonio
 * John Rhys-Davies as Salerio
 * Alan David as Solanio
 * John Nettles as Bassiano
 * Richard Morant as Lorenzo
 * Kenneth Cranham as Gratiano
 * Gemma Jones as Portia
 * Susan Jameson as Nerissa
 * Daniel Mitchell as Balthasar
 * Warren Mitchell as Shylock
 * Marc Zuber as the Prince of Morocco
 * Enn Reitel as Lancelot Gobbo
 * Joe Gladwin as Old Gobbo
 * Roger Martin as Leonardo
 * Leslee Udwin as Jessica
 * Peter Gale as the Prince of Arragon
 * Arnold Diamond as Tubal
 * Douglas Wilmer as the Duke of Venice
 * Shaun Scott as Stephano

All's Well That Ends Well

 * Directed by Elijah Moshinsky
 * Taping dates: 23–29 July 1980
 * First transmitted in the UK: 4 January 1981
 * First transmitted in the US: 18 May 1981
 * Celia Johnson as The Countess of Rousillion
 * Ian Charleson as Bertram
 * Michael Hordern as Lafeu
 * Angela Down as Helena
 * Peter Jeffrey as Parolles
 * Donald Sinden as the King of France
 * Paul Brooke as Lavache
 * Robert Lindsay as the first Lord Dumaine
 * Dominic Jephcott as the Second Lord Dumaine
 * Rosemary Leach as The Widow of Florence
 * Pippa Guard as Diana
 * Joolia Cappleman as Mariana
 * Nickolas Grace as the "Interpreter"
 * Terence McGinity as The First Gentleman
 * Max Arthur as The Second Gentleman

Behind-the-scenes
In line with producer Jonathan Miller's new aesthetic policy, director Elijah Moshinsky composed many of the shots of the film as live action replicas of the work of Johannes Vermeer.

The Winter's Tale

 * Directed by Jane Howell
 * Taping dates: 9–15 April 1980
 * First transmitted in the UK: 8 February 1981
 * First transmitted in the US: 8 June 1981
 * John Welsh as Archidamus
 * David Burke as Camillo
 * Robert Stephens as Polixenes
 * Jeremy Kemp as Leontes
 * Anna Calder-Marshall as Hermionie
 * Jeremy Dimmick as Mamillius
 * Merelina Kendall as Emilia
 * Cyril Luckham as Antigonus
 * Margaret Tyzack as Paulina
 * John Curless as Cleomenes
 * Colin McCormack as Dion
 * Arthur Hewlett as The Old Shepard
 * Paul Jesson as the Clown
 * Harold Goldblatt as Time
 * Rikki Fulton as Autolycus
 * Robin Kermode as Florizel
 * Debbie Farrington as Perdita
 * Janette Legge as Dorcas
 * Maggie Wells as Mopsa
 * Pat Gorman as The Bear

Timon of Athens

 * Directed by Jonathan Miller
 * Taping dates: 28 January-3 February 1981
 * First transmitted in the UK: 16 April 1981
 * First transmitted in the US: 14 December 1981
 * John Fortune as the Poet
 * John Bird as the Painter
 * Tony Jay as the Merchant
 * David Kinsey as the Jeweller
 * Jonathan Pryce as Timon
 * John Welsh as Flavius
 * Sebastian Shaw as Old Athenian
 * James Cossins as Lucullus
 * Norman Rodway as Apemantus
 * Geoffrey Collins as Flaminius
 * Terence McGinity as Servilius
 * John Shrapnel as Alcibades
 * Hugh Thomas as Lucius
 * Max Arthur as Lucillus
 * Donald Gee as Ventidius
 * John Bailey as Sempronius
 * Michael Anthony as Caphis
 * Elyane Sharling as Phryina
 * Diana Dors as Timandra

Behind-the-scenes
Michael Bogdanov was originally hired to direct this episode, but he resigned after his modern-dress interpretation was considered too radical.

Antony and Cleopatra

 * Directed by Jonathan Miller
 * Taping dates: 5–10 March 1980
 * First transmitted in the US: 20 April 1981
 * First transmitted in the UK: 8 May 1981
 * John Paul as Canidius
 * Jonathan Adams as Ventidius
 * Jane Lapotaire as Cleopatra
 * Colin Blakely as Antony
 * Darien Angadi as Alexas
 * Janet Key as Charmian
 * Howard Goorney as the Soothsayer
 * Cassie McFarlane as Iras
 * Emrys James as Enobarbus
 * Mohammad Shamsi as Mardian
 * Ian Charleson as Octavius Caesar
 * Esmond Knight as Lepidus
 * Harry Waters as Thidius
 * David Neal as Proculeius
 * Anthony Pedley as Agrippa
 * Geoffrey Collins as Dolabella
 * Donald Sumpter as Pompeius
 * George Innes as Menas
 * Desmond Stokes as Menecrates
 * Lynn Farleigh as Octavius
 * Simon Chandler as Eros
 * Christopher Ettridge as Scarus
 * George Howe as Euphronius
 * Alec Sabin as Dercetas

Behind-the-scenes
During the shooting of the scene with the snake, the snake crawled down the back of Jane Lapotaire's dress.

Othello

 * Directed by Jonathan Miller
 * Taping dates: 9–17 March 1981
 * First transmitted in the UK: 4 October 1981
 * First transmitted in the US: 12 October 1981
 * Anthony Pedley as Roderigo
 * Bob Hoskins as Iago
 * Geoffrey Chater as Brabantio
 * Alexander Davion as Gratiano
 * Anthony Hopkins as Othello
 * David Yelland as Cassio
 * Joseph O'Conor as Lodovico
 * John Barron as Duke of Venice
 * Penelope Wilton as Desdemona
 * Rosemary Leach as Emilia
 * Tony Steedman as Montano
 * Wendy Morgan as Bianca

Behind-the-scenes
James Earl Jones was originally hired to play the role of Othello, but Equity, the English Actor's Guild, refused to issue a work permit. During production itself, Jonathan Miller based the visual design on the work of El Greco.

Troilus and Cressida

 * Directed by Jonathan Miller
 * Taping dates: 28 July-5 August 1981
 * First transmitted in the UK: 7 November 1981
 * First transmitted in the US: 17 May 1982
 * Charles Gray as Pandarus
 * Anton Lesser as Troilus
 * Tony Steedman as Aeneas
 * Suzanne Burden as Cressida
 * Max Harvey as Alexander
 * Vernon Dobtcheff as Agamemnon
 * Geoffrey Chater as Nestor
 * Benjamin Whitrow as Ulysses
 * Bernard Brown as Menelaus
 * Anthony Pedley as Ajax
 * The Incredible Orlando as Thersites
 * Kenneth Haigh as Achilles
 * Simon Cutter as Patroclus
 * Esmond Knight as Priam
 * John Shrapnel as Hector
 * Elayne Sharling as Cassandra
 * David Firth as Paris
 * Paul Moriarty as Diomedes
 * Ann Pennington as Helen
 * Peter Whitbread as Calchas
 * Merelina Kendall as Andromache
 * Cornelius Garrett as Margarelon
 * Tony Portacio as Helenus
 * Peter J. Cassell as Deiphobus

Behind-the-scenes
Director Jonathan Miller used the work of gothic painter Lucas Cranach as a visual influence during the production, and several of Cranach's paintings can be seen in Ajax's tent.

A Midsummer Night's Dream

 * Directed by Elijah Moshinsky
 * Taping dates: 19–25 May 1981
 * First transmitted in the UK: 13 December 1981
 * First transmitted in the US: 19 April 1982
 * Estelle Kohler as Hippolyta
 * Nigel Davenport as Theseus
 * Hugh Quarshie as Philostrate
 * Geoffrey Lumsden as Egeus
 * Pippa Guard as Hermia
 * Nicky Henson as Demetrius
 * Robert Lindsay as Lysander
 * Cherith Mellor as Helena
 * Geoffrey Palmer as Peter Quince
 * Brian Glover as Nick Bottom
 * John Fowler as Francis Flute
 * Don Estelle as Robin Starveling
 * Nat Jackley as Tom Snout
 * Ray Mort as Snug
 * Phil Daniels as Puck
 * Helen Mirren as Titania
 * Peter McEnery as Oberon
 * Bruce Savage as Peaseblossom
 * Massimo Mezzofanti as Cobweb
 * Dominic Martelli as Moth
 * Timothy Cross as Mustardseed

Behind-the-scenes
Elijah Moshinsky based the fairies in the play on the baroque eroticism of Rembrandt and Peter Paul Rubens.

King Lear

 * Directed by Jonathan Miller
 * Taping dates: 26 March-2 April 1982
 * First transmitted in the UK: 19 September 1982
 * First transmitted in the US: 18 October 1982
 * John Shrapnel as Kent
 * Norman Rodway as Gloucester
 * Michael Kitchen as Edmund
 * Michael Hordern as King Lear
 * Gillian Barge as Goneril
 * Brenda Blethyn as Cordelia
 * Penelope Wilton as Regan
 * John Bird as Albany
 * Julian Curry as Cornwall
 * David Weston as Burgundy
 * Harry Waters as The King of France
 * Anton Lesser as Edgar
 * John Grillo as Oswald
 * Frank Middlemass as Fool
 * Ken Stott as Curan
 * George Howe as Doctor

Behind-the-scenes
Jonathan Miller had previously directed an adaptation of King Lear in 1975 for the BBC series Play of the Month. Like the BBC Shakespeare version, Miller's previous production starred Michael Hordern as Lear and Frank Middlemass as the Fool. Originally, however Robert Shaw was cast as Lear but died in 1978 before production began.

Cymbeline

 * Directed by Elijah Moshinsky
 * Taping dates: 29 July-5 August 1982
 * First transmitted in the US: 20 December 1982
 * First transmitted in the UK: 10 July 1983
 * Richard Johnson as Cymbeline
 * Hugh Thomas as Cornelius
 * Claire Bloom as Queen
 * Helen Mirren as Imogen
 * Michael Pennington as Posthumous
 * John Kane as Pisanio
 * Paul Jesson as Cloten
 * Robert Lindsay as Iachimo
 * Geoffrey Lumsden as Philario
 * Patsy Smart as Helen
 * Graham Crowden as Caius Lucius
 * Michael Gough as Belarius
 * Geoffrey Burridge as Guiderius
 * David Creedon as Arviragus
 * Patricia Hayes as Soothsayer
 * Marius Goring as Sicilius Leonatus
 * Michael Hordern as Jupiter

The Merry Wives of Windsor

 * Directed by David Hugh Jones
 * Taping dates: 1–8 November 1982
 * First transmitted in the UK: 28 December 1982
 * First transmitted in the US: 31 January 1983
 * Alan Bennett as Justice Shallow
 * Richard O'Callaghan as Slender
 * Tenniel Evans as Sir Hugh Evans
 * Bryan Marshall as George Page
 * Richard Griffiths as Sir John Falstaff
 * Gordon Gostelow as Bardolph
 * Nigel Terry as Pistol
 * Michael Robbins as Nym
 * Miranda Foster as Anne Page
 * Judy Davis as Mistress Ford
 * Prunella Scales as Mistress Page
 * Ron Cook as Peter Simple
 * Michael Graham Cox as Host
 * Lee Whitlock as Robin
 * Elizabeth Spriggs as Mistress Quickly
 * John Joyce as John Rugby
 * Michael Bryant as Doctor Caius
 * Simon Chandler as Fenton
 * Ben Kingsley as Frank Ford
 * Ralph Brown as John
 * Peter Gordon as Robert
 * Crispin Mair as William Page

Behind-the-scenes
Director David Jones originally wanted to shoot the episode in Stratford-upon-Avon but was restricted to a studio setting. Jones got around this by basing his set on the house which belonged to Shakespeare's son-in-law, John Hall.

The First Part of Henry the Sixt

 * Directed by Jane Howell
 * Taping dates: 13–19 October 1981
 * First transmitted in the UK: 2 January 1983
 * First transmitted in the US: 27 March 1983
 * Peter Benson as Henry VI
 * Brenda Blethyn as Joan la Pucelle
 * Antony Brown as the Duke of Burgundy
 * David Burke as the Duke of Gloucester
 * Michael Byrne as the Duke of Alençon
 * Paul Chapman as the Earl of Suffolk
 * Arthur Cox as Sir John Fastolfe/Mayor of London
 * David Daker as Reigner, Duke of Anjou/Vernon
 * Brian Deacon as the Earl of Somerset
 * Tenniel Evans as the Duke of Bedford/Mortimer, Earl of March
 * Derek Farr as the Earl of Salisbury/Sir William Lucy
 * Julia Foster as Margaret
 * Derek Fuke as Talbot's Captain/Gloucester's Servant
 * Alex Guard as Young Talbot
 * Bernard Hill as the Duke of York/Master Gunner
 * Joanna McCallum as the Countess d'Auvergne
 * Frank Middlemass as Cardinal Beaufort
 * Joseph O'Conor as the Duke of Exeter/Shepherd
 * Trevor Peacock as Lord Talbot
 * Brian Protheroe as the Bastard of Orléans
 * David Pugh as Watchman of Rouen
 * Ian Saynor as the Dauphin Charles
 * Mark Wing-Davey as the Earl of Warwick
 * Peter Wyatt as Woodville



The Second Part of Henry the Sixt

 * Directed by Jane Howell
 * Taping dates: 17–23 December 1981
 * First transmitted in the UK: 9 January 1983
 * First transmitted in the US: 10 April 1983
 * Peter Benson as Henry VI
 * Antony Brown as Walter Whitmore/Alexander Iden
 * David Burke as the Duke of Gloucester/Dick the Butcher
 * Michael Byrne as John Hume
 * Anne Carroll as the Duchess of Gloucester
 * Paul Chapman as the Duke of Suffolk
 * Ron Cook as Richard Plantaganet
 * Arthur Cox as Thomas Horner/Lord Clifford
 * David Daker as the Duke of Buckingham
 * Brian Deacon as the Duke of Somerset/Smith the Weaver
 * Tenniel Evans as the Earl of Salisbury/Clerk of Chartham
 * Derek Farr as Lord Saye
 * Julia Foster as Queen Margaret
 * Derek Fuke as Simpcox/George Bevis
 * Alex Guard as Michael
 * Bernard Hill as the Duke of York
 * Paul Jesson as John Holland/George Plantagenet
 * Pat Keen as Margery Jourdayne
 * Gabrielle Lloyd as Simpox's Wife
 * Oengus MacNamara as Young Clifford
 * Frank Middlemass as Cardinal Beaufort
 * Trevor Peacock as Sheriff/Jack Cade
 * Brian Protheroe as Edward Plantagenet
 * David Pugh as Peter Thump
 * Mark Wing-Davey as the Earl of Warwick
 * Peter Wyatt as Sir Humphrey Stafford

Behind-the-scenes
This episode was filmed on the same set as The First Part of Henry the Sixt. However, designer Oliver Bayldon altered the set so it would appear that the paint work was flaking and peeling, and the set falling into a state of disrepair, as England descended into an ever increasing state of chaos.

The Third Part of Henry the Sixt

 * Directed by Jane Howell
 * Taping dates: 10–17 February 1982
 * First transmitted in the UK: 16 January 1983
 * First transmitted in the US: 24 April 1983
 * John Benfield as the Earl of Northumberland/Huntsman
 * Peter Benson as Henry VI
 * Antony Brown as Lewis, King of France/Sir John Montgomery
 * Michael Byrne as the Marquess of Montague/Father than Killed his Son
 * Paul Chapman as the Earl of Rivers
 * Ron Cook as Richard, Duke of Gloucester
 * Rowena Cooper as Lady Elizabeth Grey
 * Arthur Cox as the Duke of Somerset
 * David Daker as Lord Hastings
 * Mathew David as the Earl of Rutland
 * Brian Deacon as Earl of Oxford
 * Tenniel Evans as First Keeper/First Watchman
 * Derek Farr as the Duke of Exeter/Mayor of York
 * Julia Foster as Queen Margaret
 * Derek Fuke as the Earl of Westmoreland
 * Tim Fuke as the Earl of Richmond
 * Alex Guard as the Marquess of Dorset/Son that Killed his Father
 * Bernard Hill as the Duke of York
 * Paul Jesson as George, Duke of Clarence
 * Merelina Kendall as Lady Bona
 * Oengus MacNamara as Young Clifford
 * Brian Protheroe as Edward IV
 * Nick Reding as Edward, Prince of Wales
 * Mark Wing-Davey as the Earl of Warwick
 * Peter Wyatt as the Duke of Norfolk

Behind-the-scenes
This episode was filmed on the same set as The First Part of Henry the Sixt and The Second Part of Henry the Sixt. However, designer Oliver Bayldon altered the set so it would appear to be completely falling apart, as England descended into an even worse state of chaos.

The Tragedy of Richard III

 * Directed by Jane Howell
 * Taping dates: 31 March-6 April 1982
 * First transmitted in the UK: 23 January 1983
 * First transmitted in the US: 2 May 1983
 * Peter Benson as the Ghost of Henry VI
 * Antony Brown as Sir Richard Ratcliffe
 * David Burke as Sir William Catesby
 * Michael Byrne as the Duke of Buckingham
 * Anne Carroll as Jane Shore
 * Paul Chapman as Earl Rivers
 * Ron Cook as Richard III
 * Rowena Cooper as Queen Elizabeth
 * Arthur Cox as Lord Grey/Lord Mayor of London
 * Annette Crosbie as the Duchess of York
 * David Daker as Lord Hastings
 * Brian Deacon as Henry, Earl of Richmond
 * Jeremy Dimmick as Young Duke of York
 * Tenniel Evans as Lord Stanley/Archbishop of York
 * Derek Farr as Sir Robert Brackenbury/Earl Surrey
 * Dorian Ford as Edward, Prince of Wales
 * Julia Foster as Margaret
 * Derek Fuke as Sir Thomas Vaughan/Second Murderer
 * Alex Guard as the Marquess of Dorset
 * Bernard Hill as First Murderer
 * Patsy Kensit as Lady Margaret Plantagenet
 * Rusty Livingston as Richard's Page
 * Oengus MacNamara as Lord Lovell
 * Brian Protheroe as Edward IV
 * Nick Reding as the Ghost of the Prince of Wales
 * Stephen Rooney as Edward Plantagenet
 * Zoë Wanamaker as Lady Anne
 * Mark Wing-Davey as Sir James Tyrell
 * Peter Wyatt as the Duke of Norfolk

Behind-the-scenes
This episode was filmed on the same set as the three Henry VI plays. However, designer Oliver Bayldon altered the set so it would appear to be a ruin, as England reached its lowest point of chaos. At 239 minutes, Howell's The Tragedy of Richard III was the longest episode in the entire series, and when the series was released on DVD in 2005, it was the only adaptation split over two disks.

Macbeth

 * Directed by Jack Gold
 * Taping dates: 22–28 June 1982
 * First transmitted in the US: 17 October 1983
 * First transmitted in the UK: 5 November 1983
 * Brenda Bruce as First Witch
 * Eileen Way as Second Witch
 * Anne Dyson as Third Witch
 * Mark Dignam as Duncan
 * James Hazeldine as Malcolm
 * John Rowe as Lennox
 * Gawn Grainger as Ross
 * Nicol Williamson as Macbeth
 * Ian Hogg as Banquo
 * David Lyon as Angus
 * Jane Lapotaire as Lady Macbeth
 * Alistair Henderson as Fleance
 * Tony Doyle as Macduff
 * Tom Bowles as Donalbain
 * Eamon Boland as Seyton
 * Jill Baker as Lady Macduff
 * Crispin Mair as Young Macduff
 * Matthew Long as Menteith
 * Peter Porteous as Caithness
 * William Abney as Old Siward
 * Nicholas Coppin as Young Siward

The Comedy of Errors

 * Directed by James Cellan Jones
 * Taping dates: 3–9 November 1983
 * First transmitted in the UK: 24 December 1983
 * First transmitted in the US: 20 February 1984
 * Cyril Cusack as Aegeon
 * Charles Gray as Solinus
 * Nicolas Chagrin as Master of the Mime
 * Michael Kitchen as Antipholus
 * Roger Daltrey as Dromio
 * Suzanne Bertish as Adriana
 * Joanne Pearce as Luciana
 * Marsha Fitzalan as Luce
 * Sam Dastor as Angelo
 * David Kelly as Balthazar
 * Geoffrey Rose as Pinch
 * Ingrid Pitt as Courtesan
 * Wendy Hiller as the Abbess



The Two Gentlemen of Verona

 * Directed by Don Taylor
 * Taping dates: 25–31 July 1983
 * First transmitted in the UK: 27 December 1983
 * First transmitted in the US: 23 April 1984
 * Frank Barrie as Eglamour
 * Tessa Peake-Jones as Julia
 * Hetta Charnley as Lucetta
 * Tyler Butterworth as Proteus
 * John Hudson as Valentine
 * Nicholas Kaby as Speed
 * Michael Byrne as Antonio
 * John Woodnutt as Panthino
 * Joanne Pearce as Sylvia
 * Tony Haygarth as Launce
 * Bella as Crab
 * David Collings as Thurio
 * Paul Daneman as Duke of Milan
 * Daniel Flynn as Servant
 * Charlotte Richardson as Cupid
 * Jonathan Taylor as Cupid
 * Bill Badley as Lutenist
 * Tom Finucane as Lutenist
 * Robin Jeffrey as Lutenist
 * Adam Kurakin as First Outlaw
 * John Baxter as Second Outlaw
 * Andrew Burt as Third Outlaw
 * Michael Graham Cox as Host

Behind-the-scenes
The music in this episode was created by Anthony Rooley, who wrote new arrangements of works from Shakespeare's own time, such as John Dowland's piece 'Lachrimae'. Performed by The Consort of Musicke, other musicians whose music was used include William Byrd, Thomas Campion, Anthony Holborne, John Johnson, Thomas Morley and Orazio Vecchi. According to director Don Taylor, the use of the young actors dressed as cherubs was to convey the idea that the characters lived in a 'Garden of Courtly Love', which was slightly divorced from every day reality.

The Tragedy of Coriolanus

 * Directed by Elijah Moshinsky
 * Taping dates: 18–26 April 1983
 * First transmitted in the US: 26 March 1984
 * First transmitted in the UK: 21 April 1984
 * Joss Ackland as Menenius
 * Alan Howard as Gaius Marcius Coriolanus
 * Patrick Godfrey as Cominius
 * Peter Sands as Titus Lartius
 * John Burgess as Sicinius
 * Anthony Pedley as Junius Brutus
 * Mike Gwilym as Aufidius
 * Valentine Dyall as Adrian
 * Irene Worth as Volumnia
 * Joanna McCallum as Virgilia
 * Heather Canning as Valeria
 * Damien Franklin as Marcus
 * Nicolas Amer as Aedile
 * Teddy Kempner as Nicanor

Behind-the-scenes
Director Elijah Moshinsky modelled the relationship between Coriolanus and his mother after that between Rose Kennedy and her sons.

Pericles, Prince of Tyre

 * Directed by David Hugh Jones
 * Taping dates: 21–28 June 1983
 * First transmitted in the US: 11 June 1984
 * First transmitted in the UK: 8 December 1984
 * Edward Petherbridge as Gower
 * John Woodvine as King Antiochus
 * Edita Brychta as Antiochus' daughter
 * Mike Gwilym as Pericles
 * Robert Ashby as Thaliard
 * Patrick Godfrey as Helicanus
 * Toby Salaman as Escanes
 * Norman Rodway as Cleon
 * Annette Crosbie as Dionyza
 * Christopher Saul as Lord of Tarsus
 * Patrick Allen as King Simonides
 * Juliet Stevenson as Thaisa
 * Edward Clayton as Philemon
 * Stephen Oxley as Lord of Pentapolis
 * Valerie Lush as Lychorida
 * Clive Swift as Lord Cerimon
 * Nick Brimble as Leonine
 * Amanda Redman as Marina
 * Trevor Peacock as Boult
 * Lila Kaye as Bawd
 * Patrick Ryecart as Lysimachus
 * Elayne Sharling as the Goddess Diana

Much Ado About Nothing

 * Directed by Stuart Burge
 * Taping dates: 15–21 August 1984
 * First transmitted in the US: 30 October 1984
 * First transmitted in the UK: 22 December 1984
 * Lee Montague as Leonato
 * Cherie Lunghi as Beatrice
 * Katharine Levy as Hero
 * Jon Finch as Don Pedro
 * Robert Lindsay as Benedick
 * Robert Reynolds as Claudio
 * Gordon Whiting as Antonio
 * Vernon Dobtcheff as Don John
 * Robert Gwilym as Conrade
 * Tony Rohr as Borachio
 * Pamela Moiseiwitsch as Margaret
 * Ishia Bennison as Ursula
 * Oz Clarke as Balthasar
 * Michael Elphick as Dogberry
 * Clive Dunn as Verges
 * Graham Crowden as Friar Francis

Behind-the-scenes
A production of Much Ado About Nothing directed by Donald McWhinnie and starring Penelope Keith and Michael York was the first production to be recorded in the series, but was thought unsatisfactory for US audiences, and never broadcast. During the reshoot for season seven, director Stuart Burge initially thought about shooting the entire episode against a blank tapestry background, with no set whatsoever, but it was felt that audiences may not respond well to this, and the idea was scrapped.

The Life and Death of King John

 * Directed by David Giles
 * Taping dates: 1–7 February 1984
 * First transmitted in the UK: 24 November 1984
 * First transmitted in the US: 11 January 1985
 * Leonard Rossiter as King John
 * William Whymper as Chatillon
 * Mary Morris as Queen Elinor
 * Robert Brown as the Earl of Pembroke
 * John Castle as the Earl of Essex
 * John Flint as Lord Bigot
 * John Thaw as Hubert de Burgh
 * George Costigan as Philip the Bastard
 * Edward Hibbert as Robert Faulconbridge
 * Phyllida Law as Lady Faulconbridge
 * Mike Lewin as James Gurney
 * Charles Kay as Philip, King of France
 * Jonathan Coy as Lewis the Dauphin
 * Luc Owen as Arthur, Duke of Britany
 * Gordon Kaye as Lymoges, Duke of Austria
 * Claire Bloom as Constance
 * John Moreno as Melun
 * Janet Maw as Blanche
 * Richard Wordsworth as Cardinal Pandulph
 * Alan Collins as Peter of Pomfret
 * Rusty Livingstone as Prince Henry

Love's Labour's Lost

 * Directed by Elijah Moshinsky
 * Taping dates: 30 June-6 July 1984
 * First transmitted in the UK: 5 January 1985
 * First transmitted in the US: 31 May 1985
 * Jonathan Kent as the King of Navarre
 * Christopher Blake as Longaville
 * Geoffrey Burridge as Dumain
 * Mike Gwilym as Berowne
 * David Warner as Don Armado
 * John Kane as Moth
 * Paul Jesson as Costard
 * Frank Williams as Dull
 * Paddy Navin as Jaquenetta
 * Clifford Rose as Boyet
 * Maureen Lipman as the Princess of France
 * Katy Behean as Maria
 * Petra Markham as Katharine
 * Jenny Agutter as Rosaline
 * Jay Ruparelia as Adrian
 * John Burgess as Sir Nathaniel
 * John Wells as Holofernes
 * Valentine Dyall as Marcade
 * Linda Kitchen as Spring
 * Susanna Ross as Winter

Behind-the-scenes
Director Elijah Moshinsky used the paintings of Jean-Antoine Watteau, the music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and the writing of Pierre de Marivaux as inspiration during the making of this episode, which is the only play of the thirty-seven to be set in the eighteenth century.

Titus Andronicus

 * Directed by Jane Howell
 * Taping dates: 10–17 February 1985
 * First transmitted in the US: 19 April 1985
 * First transmitted in the UK: 27 April 1985
 * Paul Davies Prowles as Young Lucius
 * Edward Hardwicke as Marcus
 * Walter Brown as Aemilius
 * Brian Protheroe as Saturninus
 * Nicholas Gecks as Bassianus
 * Derek Fuke as Sempronius/3rd Goth
 * Eileen Atkins as Tamora
 * Peter Searles as Alarbus/Valentine/4th Goth
 * Neil McCaul as Demetrius
 * Michael Crompton as Chiron
 * Hugh Quarshie as Aaron
 * Gavin Richards as Lucius
 * Crispin Redman as Quintus
 * Tom Hunsinger as Martius
 * Michael Packer as Mutius
 * Trevor Peacock as Titus Andronicus
 * Anna Calder-Marshall as Lavinia
 * Paul Kelly as Publius/2nd Goth
 * John Benfield as 1st Goth/Caius
 * Deddie Davies as Nurse
 * Tim Potter as Clown

Behind-the-scenes
Because Titus was broadcast several months after the rest of the seventh season, it was rumoured that the BBC were worried about the violence in the play and that disagreements had arisen about censorship. This was inaccurate however, with the delay caused by a BBC strike in 1984. Initially, director Jane Howell wanted to set the play in present day Northern Ireland, but she ultimately settled on a more conventional approach. All the body parts seen throughout were based upon real autopsy photographs, and were authenticated by the Royal College of Surgeons. The costumes of the Goths were based on punk outfits, with Chiron and Demetrius specifically based on the band KISS. According to Howell, the reason the Roman populace all wear identical generic masks without mouth was to convey the idea also that the Roman people were faceless and voiceless.

Omissions and changes
With the exception of Pericles, Prince of Tyre, all of the productions were based on the texts of the First Folio (1623), however, numerous changes were made throughout the series.


 * Richard II
 * The trial/multiple challenges portion of Act IV is omitted.
 * All mention of Henry IV's son, later Henry V, is omitted.


 * Henry IV, Part 2
 * The Epilogue is omitted.
 * Much other material, especially involving Falstaff, is cut.


 * Twelfth Night
 * Act 2, Scene 2 follows immediately after Act 1, Scene 5.


 * The Taming of the Shrew
 * The Induction and the interjection of Sly at the end of Act 1, Scene 1 are absent.
 * Several lines are omitted from the conversation between Grumio and Curtis in Act 4, Scene 1.
 * The brief conversation between Biondello and Lucentio which opens Act 5, Scene 1 is absent.
 * Act 5, Scene 2 ends differently to the play. The last line spoken is Petruchio's "We three are married, but you two are sped;" thus omitting Petruchio's comment to Lucentio "'Twas I won the wager, though you hit the white, And being a winner, God give you good night", as well as Hortensio's line, "Now go thy ways, thou has tamed a curst shrew", and Lucentio's closing statement, "'Tis a wonder, by your leave, she will be tamed so." Additionally, Petruchio and Katherina do not leave the banquet prior to the end of the play, but remain, and engage in a song with all present.


 * Henry VI, Part 1
 * Lines are omitted from almost every scene. Some of the more notable omissions include, in Act 1, Scene 1, Bedford's references to children crying and England becoming a marsh since Henry V died; (ll.48-51). In Act 1, Scene 2, Alençon's praise of the resoluteness of the English army is absent (ll.29-34). In Act 1, Scene 5, Talbot's complaint about the French wanting to ransom him for a prisoner of less worth is absent (ll.8-11). In Act 1, Scene 7, some of Charles' praise of Joan is absent (ll.21-27). In Act 4, Scene 6, some of the dialogue between Talbot and John is absent (ll.6-25). In Act 4, Scene 7, twelve of Joan's sixteen lines are cut; the entire seven line speech where she says John Talbot refused to fight her because she is a woman (ll.37-43); the first three lines of her five line mockery of Lucy's listing of Talbot's titles (ll.72-75); and the first two lines of her four line speech where she mocks Lucy about to take over Talbot's position (ll.86-88).
 * The adaptation opens differently to the text, as we see Henry VI singing a lament for his father.
 * Fastolf's escape from Rouen is seen rather than merely mentioned.
 * Act 5, Scene 1 and Act 5, Scene 2 are reversed so that Act 4, Scene 7 and Act 5, Scene 2 now form one continuous piece.
 * The character of Warwick as portrayed by Mark Wing-Davey is Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick. In the play however, the character is Richard de Beauchamp, 13th Earl of Warwick, Neville's father-in-law.


 * Henry VI, Part 2
 * Lines are omitted from almost every scene. Some of the more notable omissions include, in Act 1, Scene 1, both of Humphrey's references to Bedford are absent (ll. 82-83, 95-96), as is the reference to Suffolk's demands that he be paid for escorting Margaret from France (ll. 131-133), and York's allusion to Althaea and Calydon in his closing soliloquy (ll.231-235). York's outline of Edward III's seven sons is absent from Act 2, Scene 2 (ll.10-17), as is Salisbury's reference to Owen Glendower (l.41). Suffolk's accusation that Humphrey was involved in necromancy with Eleanor is omitted from Act 3, Scene 1 (ll.47-53), as is Humphrey's outline of how he dealt with criminals during his time as Lord Protector (ll.128-132). Also absent from 3.1 is York's reference to how he fought alongside Cade in Ireland (ll.360-370). In Act 4, Scene 1, all references to Walter Whitmore's name as Gualtier are absent. The entirety of Act 4, Scene 5 (a brief scene showing Scales and Gough on patrol at the Tower of London) is absent. In Act 5, Scene 1, some of the dialogue between Clifford and Warwick is absent (ll.200-210).
 * Some lines have also been added to the play. In Act 1, Scene 1, two lines are added to Salisbury's vow to support York if he can prove he is a legitimate heir to the crown; "The reverence of mine age and the Neville's name/Is of no little force if I command" (between ll.197 and 198). In Act 1, Scene 3, two lines are added to the conversation between Margaret and Thump, where Thump mistakes the word 'usurper' for 'usurer' and is corrected by Margaret (between ll.31 and 32). In Act 2, Scene 1, the conversation between Humphrey and Beaufort is extended, wherein Humphrey says that Beaufort was born "in bastardy". All of these additional lines are taken from the 1594 quarto of the play, The First part of the Contention betwixt the two famous Houses of Yorke and Lancaster.
 * Several lines are spoken by characters other than who speak in the Folio text. In Act 1, Scene 3, Humphrey's line "This is the law and this Duke Humphrey's doom" is given to Henry. In Act 1, Scene 4, during the conjuration, there is no separate spirit in the scene; all the spirit's dialogue is spoken 'through' Magarey Jourdayne. Also, later in that scene, it is Buckingham who reads the prophecies, not York. In Act 4, Scene 1, the second half of line 139 ("Pompey the Great and Suffolk dies by pirates") is given to the Lieutenant.
 * The character of George Plantagenet is introduced towards the end of the play, just prior to the Battle of St Albans, with which the play closes. In the text however, George is not introduced until 3 Henry VI, Act 2, Scene 2
 * The play ends slightly differently to how it is indicated in the text. After the battle, the victorious House of York leave the stage, all except Salisbury, who sadly looks around the field of battle at the many dead bodies.


 * Henry VI, Part 3
 * Lines are omitted from almost every scene. Some of the more notable omissions include the opening twenty-four lines of the first scene. Instead the play begins with Warwick proclaiming, "This is the palace of the fearful king". Also in Act 1, Scene 1, all references to Margaret chairing a session of parliament are absent (ll.35-42), as are her references to the pains of child birth, and Henry's shameful behaviour in disinheriting his son (ll.221-226). Absent from Act 1, Scene 3 is Rutland's appeal to Clifford's paternal instincts (ll.41-43). In Act 2, Scene 1, all references to Clarence's entry into the conflict are absent, as he had already been introduced as a combatant at the end of 2 Henry VI. During the debate between the Yorkists and the Lancastrians in Act 2, Scene 2, Richard's "Northumberland, I hold thee reverentially" is absent (l.109). In Act 3, Scene 3, Warwick's reference to Salisbury's death and the incident with his niece are both absent (ll.186-188). In Act 4, Scene 4, the first twelve lines are absent (where Elizabeth reports to Rivers that Edward has been captured). In Act 5, Scene 6, Henry's references to Daedalus and Icarus are absent (ll.21-25).
 * Some lines are also added to the play. In Act 1, Scene 1, four lines are added at the beginning of Henry's declaration that he would rather see civil war than yield the throne; "Ah Plantagenet, why seekest thou to depose me?/Are we not both Plantagenets by birth?/And from two brothers lineally descent?/Suppose by right and equity thou be king...". Also in Act 1, Scene 1, a line is inserted when York asks Henry if he agrees to the truce and Henry replies "Convey the soldiers hence, and then I will." Most significant is in Act 5, Scene 1, where the incident involving Clarence's return to the Lancastrian side is completely different to the text found in the Folio, and is taken entirely from the octavo text of The True Tragedy of Richard Duke of York (1595).
 * Several lines are spoken by characters other than who speak in the Folio text, particularly in relation to Clarence. For example, in Act 2, Scene 1, it is Clarence who says Edward's "I wonder how our princely father scaped,/Or whether he be scaped away or no/From Clifford and Northumberland's pursuit". Clarence also speaks Richard's "Three glorious suns, each one a perfect sun,/Not separated with the racking clouds/But severed in a pale clear-shining sky"; Edward's "Sweet Duke of York, our prop to lean upon/Now thou art gone, we have no staff, no stay"; and Richard's "Great lord of Warwick, if we should recount/Our baleful news, and at each word's deliverance/Stab poniards in our flesh till all were told,/The words would add more anguish than the wounds".
 * The presentation of the character of Montague also differs from the Folio text. Montague is not present in Act 1, Scene 1, and as such, his lines are either spoken by Clarence or omitted. He is introduced in Act 1, Scene 2, but with some notable changes to the text; when York is giving his men instructions, his order to Montague, "Brother, thou shalt to London presently" (l.36) is changed to "Cousin, thou shalt to London presently", York's reiteration of the order "My brother Montague shall post to London" (l.54) is changed to "Hast you to London my cousin Montague", and Montague's "Brother, I go, I'll win them, fear it not" (l.60) is changed to "Cousin, I go, I'll win them, fear it not." Additionally, the report of the death of Warwick and Montague's brother Thomas Neville in Act 2, Scene 3 is different from the text; 'son' in line 15 is replaced with 'father', 'brother' in line 19 is replaced with 'son', and 'gentleman' in line 23 is replaced with 'Salisbury'.


 * Cymbeline
 * Acts 4 and 5 are heavily cut, and scenes and speeches are freely rearranged.


 * Timon of Athens
 * Act 3, Scene 3 is heavily cut; the servant's monologue is totally omitted, though Lucilius appears in the background for the scene. Various smaller cuts.


 * The Two Gentlemen of Verona
 * Act 1, Scene 1 begins with Mercatio and Eglamour attempting to formally woo Julia; Mercatio by showing her a coffer overflowing with gold coins, Eglamour by displaying a parchment detailing his family history (there is no dialogue in this scene).
 * The capture of Silvia and the flight of Eglamour is seen, as opposed to merely being described.
 * Eglamour is also present at the end of Act 5, Scene 4 (once again without any dialogue).


 * Titus Andronicus
 * Some minor lines are omitted from various scenes, such as Lavinia's "Ay, for these slips have made him noted long" (2.3.87), Titus' "Ah, wherefore dost thou urge the name of hands,/To bid Aeneas tell the tale twice o’er,/How Troy was burnt and he made miserable?" (3.2.26-28), Marcus' "What, what! The lustful sons of Tamora/Performers of this heinous, bloody deed" (4.1.78-79), and Titus and Marcus' brief conversation about Taurus and Aries (4.3.68-75).
 * Several lines from the Q1 text which were removed in subsequent editions are used; at 1.1.35 Titus' "bearing his valiant sons/in coffins from the field" continues with "and at this day,/To the Monument of that Andronicy/Done sacrifice of expiation,/And slaine the Noblest prisoner of the Gothes." These lines work in tandem with a rearrangement of the opening scenes to avoid a continuity problem. The lines concern the sacrifice of Alarbus, which hasn't happened yet in the text. However, Howell got around this problem by beginning the play at 1.1.64 – the entrance of Titus. Then, at 1.1.168, after the sacrifice of Alarbus, lines 1.1.1 to 1.1.63 (the introductions of Bassianus and Saturninus) take place, thus Titus' reference to Alarbus' sacrifice makes chronological sense.
 * The character of Young Lucius is a much more important figure in the adaptation than in the play; he is present throughout Act 1, he retrieves the murder weapon after the death of Mutius; it is his knife which Titus uses to kill the fly; he aids in the capture of Chiron and Demetrius; he is present throughout the final scene.
 * Also changed is the fate of Aaron's baby, who is seen dead in a coffin in the final scene. In the play, and most productions, it is implied that the child lives.