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All Episodes of The BBC Television Shakespeare

Browse all episodes of The BBC Television Shakespeare

The BBC Television Shakespeare is a series of British television adaptations of the plays of William Shakespeare, created by Cedric Messina and produced by BBC Television. It was transmitted in the UK from 3 December

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Season 1

  • Romeo & Juliet
    N/A/100 votes

    Romeo & Juliet

    Season 1 Episode 1 - Aired 12/3/1978

    Two households, both alike in dignity, in fair Verona where we lay our scene, from ancient grudge break to new mutiny where civil blood makes civil hands unclean. From forth the fatal loins of these two foes a pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life whose misadventur'd piteous overthrows doth with their death bury their parents' strife.

    Director: Unknown

    Writer: Unknown

  • King Richard the Second
    N/A/100 votes

    King Richard the Second

    Season 1 Episode 2 - Aired 12/10/1978

    Richard II, who ascended the throne as a child, is a regal and stately monarch. He believes he is the rightful ruler of England, ordained by God, yet he is a weak and ineffective king - wasteful in his spending habits, unwise in his choice of chancellors, and detached from his country and its people. When he seizes the land of his cousin Henry Bolingbroke, both the commoners and the barons decide that their king has gone too far.

    Director: Unknown

    Writer: Unknown

  • As You Like It
    N/A/100 votes

    As You Like It

    Season 1 Episode 3 - Aired 12/17/1978

    Orlando is forced to work like a servant for his brother Oliver, so he goes to win his fortune in a wrestling contest, where he meets a lady of the court, Rosalind (daughter of the deposed duke), who is companion to Celia, niece of the deposed duke. When the current duke banishes Rosalind from the kingdom, she, Celia, the court jester, and incidentally Orlando, all end up in the forest or Arden, where the deposed duke holds court. Romantic mix-ups, cross-dressing, love poems nailed to trees, and a lion await them all.

    Director: Unknown

    Writer: Unknown

  • Julius Caesar
    N/A/100 votes

    Julius Caesar

    Season 1 Episode 4 - Aired 2/11/1979

    Marcus Brutus is Caesar's close friend and a Roman praetor. Brutus allows himself to be cajoled into joining a group of conspiring senators because of a growing suspicion — implanted by Caius Cassius — that Caesar intends to turn republican Rome into a monarchy under his own rule.

    Director: Unknown

    Writer: Unknown

  • Measure for Measure
    N/A/100 votes

    Measure for Measure

    Season 1 Episode 5 - Aired 2/18/1979

    When the Duke of Vienna takes a mysterious leave of absence and leaves the strict Angelo in charge, things couldn't be worse for Claudio, who is sentenced to death for fornication. His sister, Isabella (a nun-in-training), however, is a very persuasive pleader. She approaches Angelo, but instead of offering clemency, Angelo offers to save Claudio's life if Isabella sleeps with him. The only sympathetic friend Isabella has is a priest who, in reality, is the Duke in disguise - and he has a plan.

    Director: Unknown

    Writer: Unknown

  • The Famous History of the Life of King Henry the Eight
    N/A/100 votes
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