Shakespeare Uncovered

Jun 19, 2012

Shakespeare Uncovered: In Twelfth Night and As You Like It, Joely Richardson investigates (with a contribution from her mother Vanessa Redgrave) the great comic heroines created by Shakespeare in those hugely popular plays.

Jun 26, 2012

Ethan Hawke sets out to prepare himself for the possibility of playing the role of Macbeth by uncovering the true story behind the play, seeing some of the greatest productions and discovering the extraordinary insights into the criminal mind that Shakespeare reveals.

Jun 30, 2012

Derek Jacobi looks at Richard II, a role he played 30 years ago. He reveals why the might have cost Shakespeare his life, and shares some of the extraordinary political parallels within the play that still resonate today.

Jul 3, 2012

Trevor Nunn looks at the magical and mysterious world created in Shakespeare's last complete play, The Tempest. Trevor finds out where Shakespeare got his material from and the strange personal insights hidden within it. It is a truly experimental work but sadly perhaps also Shakespeare's farewell to the theatre. The Tempest is peculiarly suitable to film - ambitious, experimental and full of magic. Not surprisingly, one of the very first silent film adaptations of a Shakespeare play was The Tempest in 1911.

Jul 7, 2012

Jeremy Irons uncovers the extraordinary appeal of Shakespeare's History Plays. He unravels the differences between the real history and the drama that Shakespeare creates.

Jul 17, 2012

David Tennant, whose own RSC performance as Hamlet was a huge hit, meets other actors who have played the role and tries to unravel the meaning of the play.

Jan 30, 2015

Actor Hugh Bonneville talks with Ralph Fiennes about the appeal of "A Midsummer Night's Dream."

Jan 30, 2015

Christopher Plummer explores how "King Lear" may have been staged during Shakespeare's time; actors Ian McKellen and Simon Russell Beale discuss playing the role of King Lear.

Feb 6, 2015

Morgan Freeman is determined to understand why Shakespeare wrote "The Taming of the Shrew"; interviews include Tracey Ullman, Sinead Cusack and Julia Stiles.

Feb 6, 2015

David Harewood unravels the issues of prejudice and jealousy embedded in "Othello"; Adrian Lester portrays Othello at the National Theatre in London; interviews include Simon Russell Beale, Ian McKellen, Julia Stiles and Patrick Stewart.

Feb 13, 2015

Kim Cattrall searches for the truth behind Shakespeare's middle-aged love story and examines inspirations for the play in Rome; with Janet Suzman, Harriet Walter and Vanessa Redgrave.

Feb 13, 2015

Joe Fiennes considers why "Romeo and Juliet" remains the most adapted and performed of all of Shakespeare's works; interviews include Orlando Bloom, Condola Rashad and Stephen Sondheim.

Oct 12, 2018

Helen Hunt explores how “Much Ado About Nothing” became one of Shakespeare’s most beloved romantic comedies.

Oct 12, 2018

F. Murray Abraham untangles the controversies surrounding “The Merchant of Venice,” addressing the ubiquitous anti-Semitism that characterized Europe in Shakespeare’s time.

Oct 19, 2018

Romola Garai explores “Measure for Measure,” one of Shakespeare's most provocative plays. It presents a surprisingly timely drama of sexual morality, hypocrisy and harassment.

Oct 19, 2018

Brian Cox looks at Shakespeare's most revered political play, “Julius Caesar,” to analyze what can be learned about freedom and tyranny today.

Oct 26, 2018

Simon Russell Beale uncovers the romance and betrayals of "The Winter's Tale" and shows that in this play Shakespeare offers something for which everyone longs: the ability to make amends for an irreversible mistake.

Oct 26, 2018

Antony Sher unveils the life of Shakespeare's "Richard III," comparing the historical king's reputation with the play's enduring portrait of ruthless ambition and vengeance.