In 1978, the BBC set itself the task of filming all of William Shakespeare’s plays for television. The resulting productions, renowned for their loyalty to the text, utilised the best theatrical and television directors and brought great performances from leading contemporary actors.
Season 4
*Othello: Jonathan Miller’s magnificent production utilises the indubitable talents of Anthony Hopkins and Bob Hoskins in the lead roles of Shakespeare’s theatrical masterpiece. Indeed Hopkins admitted, ‘Othello is the part I’ve always most wanted to play.” Together they weave an increasingly tense web of manipulation, deception and jealousy on a tragic path to self-understanding.
*Troilus and Cressida: The bitter Trojan War drags on – the Greeks blame Achilles’ apathy for low morale, while Troy’s hero Hector challenges one of the enemy to a personal duel. And after her father exchanges Cressida for a Trojan prisoner, the war becomes personal for her distraught lover Troilus. Jonathan Miller pitches for his acclaimed production of this part-history, part-tragedy between satire and savage farce, highlighting Shakespeare’s cynical standpoint where love is mocked and heroism made absurd.
*A Midsummer Night’s Dream: Shakespeare’s fairytale comedy contains some of the most lyrical expressions of love, dreams and imagination. The production is star-studded, with Helen Mirren as Titania and Peter McEnery as Oberon dominating the proceedings, supported by a superb cast. As the New York Times wrote “they are all accomplished performers, but the director has given the extra dimension of using them brilliantly in terms of television.”