BBC Television Shakespeare

The BBC Television Shakespeare was a set of television adaptations of the plays of Shakespeare, produced by the BBC between 1978 and 1985. The series was initiated by Cedric Messina , and produced by Messina, Jonathan Miller, and Shaun Sutton ; directors and other crew varied from play to play. The entire series has been released on video, under the banner title The Complete Dramatic Works of William Shakespeare. Some of the plays (including Hamlet, Macbeth, King Lear, and A Midsummer Night's Dream) have been released on DVD.

The productions were of varying quality. Their extremely low production values meant that their studio-bound sets could be risible, and their extremely tight schedules (rehearsal and filming typically took place in less than a week) meant that the results rarely rose above the competent. However, the BBC did manage to attract many great actors who occasionally enabled the series to rise above the limitations of time and budget.

The thirty-seven plays in the series included:

• Richard II (1978)
  • directed by David Giles
  • Derek Jacobi as Richard II
  • Jon Finch as Henry Bolingbroke

• Romeo and Juliet (1978)
  • directed by Alvin Rakoff
  • Patrick Ryecart as Romeo
  • Rebecca Saire as Juliet

• As You Like It (1979)
  • directed by Basil Coleman
  • Helen Mirren as Rosalind
  • Brian Stirner as Orlando

• Henry IV, part 1, Henry IV, part 2 (1979)
  • directed by David Giles
  • Jon Finch as Henry IV
  • David Gwillim as Prince Hal
  • Anthony Quayle as Falstaff

• Henry V (1979)
  • directed by David Giles
  • David Gwillim as Henry V
  • Alec McCowen as Chorus

• Henry VIII (1979)
  • directed by Kevin Billington
  • John Stride as Henry VIII
  • Claire Bloom as Katharine

• Measure for Measure (1978)
  • directed by Desmond Davis
  • Kate Nelligan as Isabella
  • Tim Piggott-Smith as Angelo

• Julius Caesar (1979)
  • directed by Herbert Wise
  • Charles Gray as Julius Caesar
  • Richard Pasco as Brutus
  • David Collings as Cassius

• All's Well That Ends Well (1980)
  • directed by Elijah Moshinsky
  • Angela Down as Helena
  • Ian Charleson as Bertram

• Hamlet (1980)
  • directed by Rodney Bennett
  • Derek Jacobi as Hamlet
  • Patrick Stewart as Claudius
  • Claire Bloom as Gertrude

• The Merchant of Venice (1980)
  • directed by Jack Gold
  • John Franklyn-Robbins as Antonio
  • Warren Mitchell as Shylock
  • Gemma Jones as Portia

• Othello (1980)
  • directed by Jonathan Miller
  • Anthony Hopkins as Othello
  • Bob Hoskins as Iago
  • Penelope Wilton as Desdemona

• The Taming of the Shrew (1980)
  • directed by Jonathan Miller
  • Sarah Badel as Katherine
  • John Cleese as Petruchio

• The Tempest (1980)
  • directed by John Gorrie
  • Michael Hordern as Prospero
  • Pippa Guard as Miranda
  • David Dixon as Ariel
  • Warren Clarke as Caliban

• Twelfth Night (1980)
  • directed by John Gorrie
  • Felicity Kendal as Viola
  • Clive Arrindell as Orsino
  • Sinéad Cusack as Olivia
  • Trevor Peacock as Feste

• The Winter's Tale (1980)
  • directed by Jane Howell
  • Jeremy Kemp as Leontes
  • Robert Stephens as Polixenes
  • Pat Gorman as the bear

• A Midsummer Night's Dream (1981)
  • directed by Elijah Moshinsky
  • Helen Mirren as Titania
  • Phil Daniels as Puck
  • Brian Glover as Bottom

• Antony and Cleopatra (1981)
  • directed by Jonathan Miller
  • Colin Blakely as Antony
  • Jane Lapotaire as Cleopatra

• Timon of Athens (1981)
  • directed by Jonathan Miller
  • Jonathan Pryce as Timon
  • Diana Dors as Timandra

• Troilus and Cressida (1981)
  • directed by Jonathan Miller
  • Anton Lesser as Troilus
  • Suzanne Burden as Cressida

• King Lear (1982)
  • directed by Jonathan Miller
  • Michael Hordern as King Lear
  • Brenda Blethyn as Cordelia
  • John Shrapnel as Kent

• The Merry Wives of Windsor (1982)
  • directed by David Hugh Jones
  • Richard Griffiths as Falstaff
  • Judy Davis as Mrs Ford
  • Prunella Scales as Mrs Page

• The Comedy of Errors (1983)
  • directed by James Cellan Jones
  • Michael Kitchen as Antipholus
  • Roger Daltrey as Dromio

• Cymbeline (1983)
  • directed by Elijah Moshinsky
  • Michael Pennington as Posthumous
  • Helen Mirren as Imogen
  • Robert Lindsay as Iachimo

• Henry VI, part 1, Henry VI, part 2, Henry VI, part 3 (1983)
  • directed by Jane Howell
  • Peter Benson as Henry VI
  • Julia Foster as Margaret

• Macbeth (1983)
  • directed by Jack Gold
  • Nicol Williamson as Macbeth
  • Jane Lapotaire as Lady Macbeth
  • Tony Doyle as Macduff

• Richard III (1982)
  • directed by Jane Howell
  • Ron Cook as Richard III
  • Brian Deacon as Henry, Earl of Richmond

• Much Ado About Nothing (1984)
  • directed by Stuart Burge
  • Robert Lindsay as Benedick
  • Cherie Lunghi as Beatrice
  • Robert Reynolds as Claudio
  • Katharine Levy as Hero

• Pericles, Prince of Tyre (1984)
  • directed by David Hugh Jones
  • Mike Gwilym as Pericles

• The Tragedy of Coriolanus (1984)
  • directed by Elijah Moshinsky
  • Alan Howard as Coriolanus

• King John (1984)
  • directed by David Giles
  • Leonard Rossiter as King John
  • George Costigan as Philip the Bastard

• Titus Andronicus (1985)
  • directed by Jane Howell
  • Trevor Peacock as Titus Andronicus
  • Anna Calder-Marshall as Lavinia

• The Two Gentlemen of Verona (1984)
  • directed by Don Taylor
  • John Hudson as Valentine
  • Tyler Butterworth as Proteus

• Love's Labour's Lost (1985)
  • directed by Elijah Moshinsky
  • Jonathan Kent as the King of Navarre
  • Maureen Lipman as the Princess of France

Note: The Two Noble Kinsmen and Edward III were not considered to be the work of Shakespeare at the time, and so were not included in the series.