About BBC Television Shakespeare
- Released on December 01, 1978
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 1978 to 27 April 1985 and spanned seven series. Development of the series began in 1975 when Messina saw that Glamis Castle would make a perfect location for an adaptation of Shakespeare's play As You Like It. On returning to London, he envisioned an entire series devoted exclusively to the dramatic works of Shakespeare. After encountering numerous problems trying to produce the series, Messina eventually pitched the idea to the BBC’s departmental heads and the series was greenlighted. The series as a whole received generally negative reviews from critics.
Main Cast of BBC Television Shakespeare
Trevor Peacock
Vernon Dobtcheff plays Apothecary (3 episodes)
Mike Gwilym
Tenniel Evans
Michael Byrne
Charles Gray plays Duke of York (4 episodes)
Gordon Gostelow
Julia Foster
David Gwillim
Annette Crosbie
Peter Benson
Arthur Hewlett
Ron Cook
Norman Rodway
Robert Lindsay
Ian Charleson
Mark Wing-Davey
Claire Bloom
Anthony Pedley
Jon Finch plays Henry Bolingbroke (4 episodes)
Frank Middlemass
Brenda Bruce
Bryan Pringle
Esmond Knight plays Old Capulet (3 episodes)
David Neal
Michael Hordern plays Capulet (5 episodes)
John Benfield
Paul Jesson
Secondary Cast of BBC Television Shakespeare
Alec McCowen
Bruce Purchase
Rosemary Leach
Wendy Hiller plays Duchess of York (2 episodes)
Emrys James
Pippa Guard
Frank Williams
Christopher Blake
Nicholas Young
Frank Thornton
Kate Nelligan
David Rintoul
Nicky Henson
Phyllida Law
Edward Hardwicke
Bob Hoskins
Tony Church
Brenda Blethyn
Edward Petherbridge
David Daker
Frances Cuka
Eamon Boland
Alan David plays Solanio (1 episode)
Colin McCormack
Jonathan Scott-Taylor
Anna Calder-Marshall
John Barron
Clive Swift
Patrick Allen
James Bolam
Clifford Rose plays Bishop of Carlisle (2 episodes)
Derek Farr
Oliver Cotton
Keith Drinkel
David Dixon
Don Estelle
Alan Rickman plays Tybalt (1 episode)
John Thaw
Barbara Rhoades
Prunella Scales
Andrew Burt
Nickolas Grace
Joe Gladwin
Kenneth Haigh
James Cossins
Maurice Roëves
Robert Eddison
Patsy Smart
Jeremy Kemp
John Franklyn-Robbins
Joanna McCallum
Jane Lapotaire
John Grillo
Tessa Peake-Jones
Brian Glover
John Fortune
Lee Montague
Eileen Atkins
David Kelly
Christopher Guard
John Stride
Jacqueline Hill plays Lady Capulet (1 episode)
Ian Barritt
Eileen Way
Anna Quayle
John Clegg
David Burke
Jeffrey Holland plays Duke of Surrey (2 episodes)
John Wells
Geoffrey Burridge
John Woodnutt
Ralph Michael
Diana Dors
Susan Penhaligon
Benjamin Whitrow
Tony Doyle
John Savident plays Friar John (1 episode)
Lynn Farleigh
Clive Dunn
Lalla Ward
John Castle
Thorley Walters
Paul Brooke
Darien Angadi
Anton Lesser
Geoffrey Chater
Valentine Dyall
Anthony Quayle
Graham Crowden
Patrick Ryecart plays Romeo (1 episode)
Adrienne Corri
Cyril Cusack
Tony Haygarth
Colin Blakely
Gavin Richards
Mark Dignam
Andrew Sachs
Angus Lennie
Timothy West
Kenneth Cranham
Edward Hibbert
Charles Keating plays Duke of Aumerle (1 episode)
John Welsh
Ben Kingsley
Celia Johnson plays Nurse (2 episodes)
Julian Glover
Michele Dotrice
John Burgess
Elizabeth Spriggs
Sinéad Cusack
Cyril Luckham
Amanda Redman
Trevor Baxter
Jonathan Cecil
John McEnery
Ingrid Pitt
Nicol Williamson
Patricia Hayes
Richard Easton
David Waller
Ann Pennington
Michael Robbins
Cherie Lunghi
Frank Barrie
Jeremy Bulloch plays Henry Percy (1 episode)
John Bailey
David Buck
Joss Ackland
Warren Clarke
Virginia McKenna
Juliet Stevenson
Robert Stephens
Angharad Rees
Richard Johnson
Richard O'Callaghan
Damien Thomas plays Bagot (1 episode)
Warren Mitchell
Paul Daneman
Leonard Rossiter
Geoffrey Lumsden
Petra Markham
John Bird
Nicholas Gecks
Noel Johnson
Anthony Andrews plays Mercutio (1 episode)
Ralph Brown
Robert Gwilym
Nigel Hawthorne
Jacqueline Pearce
John Nettles
Margaret Tyzack
John Woodvine
Timothy Bateson
Michael Gough
Jack May
Robert Hardy
Dominic Jephcott
Tim Wylton
Jeremy Dimmick
Michael Kitchen
Tony Steedman
Tim Pigott-Smith
Richard Pasco
Deddie Davies
William Simons
Bryan Marshall
Laurence Naismith plays Prince Escalus (1 episode)
Ronnie Stevens
Leon Lissek
Richard Morant
Peter McEnery
Peter Whitbread
Charles Lloyd Pack
Christopher Ellison
Sarah Badel
Peter Jeffrey
Kevin Stoney
Mary Morris plays Duchess of Gloucester (2 episodes)
Declan Mulholland
Charles Kay
Joan Hickson
Geoffrey Palmer
Christopher Ettridge
Seymour Green
James Hazeldine
Ronald Forfar
John Moulder-Brown
Suzanne Burden
Gemma Jones
John Abineri
John Paul plays Montague (2 episodes)
Peter Salmon
Harry Waters, Jr.
Howard Goorney
John Sterland
Clive Francis
John Abbott
Richard Wordsworth
Barbara Kellerman
Ian Hogg
Joolia Cappleman
Danny Webb
Susan Jameson
Eric Porter
Robin Sachs plays Busby (1 episode)
Robert Brown
Michael Elphick
Derek Jacobi plays King Richard II (2 episodes)
Keith Michell
David Robb
Marius Goring
Andrew MacLachlan
Ronald Pickup
Nigel Davenport
Patsy Kensit
John Gielgud plays Chorus (1 episode) , John of Gaunt (1 episode)
John Nettleton
Katharine Levy
Estelle Kohler
Michael Bryant
David Lloyd Meredith
Arnold Diamond
Brian Deacon
Jill Baker
Jenny Laird
Alun Armstrong
George Howe
Paul Henry plays Peter (1 episode)
Sylvia Coleridge
Michael Pennington
Marc Zuber
Stuart Fell
Ellis Jones
Victoria Plucknett
Richard Owens plays Thomas Mowbray (2 episodes)
Brian Stirner
Richard Griffiths
Robert Morris
Jack McKenzie
Geoffrey Beevers
Rob Edwards
Nigel Lambert
Danny Schiller plays Musician (1 episode)
Rebecca Saire plays Juliet (1 episode)
Mohammad Shamsi
Neil McCarthy
Ian Puleston-Davies
Simon Chandler
Christopher Strauli plays Benvolio (1 episode) , Claudio (1 episode)
Jimmy Gardner
Paul Kelly
Yolande Palfrey plays Juliet (1 episode)
Joseph O'Conor plays Friar Lawrence (1 episode)
Christopher Northey plays Paris (1 episode)
Roger Davidson plays Balthasar (1 episode)
Zulema Dene plays Lady Montague (1 episode)
David Swift plays Duke of Northumberland (1 episode)
Jonathan Adams
Janet Maw plays Queen (1 episode)
Alan Dalton plays Green (1 episode)
Crew of BBC Television Shakespeare
Directing
Writing
Production
Sound
Art
Costume & Make-Up
Camera
Lighting
Crew
Editing
- Trevor Peacock
- Vernon Dobtcheff
- Mike Gwilym
- Tenniel Evans
- Michael Byrne
- Bernard Hill
- Charles Gray
- Gordon Gostelow
- Helen Mirren
- Julia Foster
- David Gwillim
- Annette Crosbie
- Peter Benson
- Arthur Hewlett
- Ron Cook
- Norman Rodway
- Robert Lindsay
- Ian Charleson
- Mark Wing-Davey
- Claire Bloom
- Anthony Pedley
- Jon Finch
- Frank Middlemass
- Brenda Bruce
- Bryan Pringle
- Esmond Knight
- David Neal
- Michael Hordern
- John Benfield
- Paul Jesson
- Alec McCowen
- Bruce Purchase
- Rosemary Leach
- Wendy Hiller
- Emrys James
- Pippa Guard
- Frank Williams
- Christopher Blake
- Nicholas Young
- Frank Thornton
- Judy Davis
- Kate Nelligan
- David Rintoul
- Nicky Henson
- Phyllida Law
- Edward Hardwicke
- Bob Hoskins
- Tony Church
- Brenda Blethyn
- Edward Petherbridge
- David Daker
- Jonathan Pryce
- Frances Cuka
- Eamon Boland
- Alan David
- Colin McCormack
- Jonathan Scott-Taylor
- Anna Calder-Marshall
- John Barron
- Clive Swift
- Patrick Allen
- James Bolam
- Clifford Rose
- Derek Farr
- Oliver Cotton
- Keith Drinkel
- David Dixon
- Don Estelle
- Alan Rickman
- John Thaw
- Barbara Rhoades
- Prunella Scales
- Andrew Burt
- Kenneth Colley
- Nickolas Grace
- Joe Gladwin
- Kenneth Haigh
- Alan Howard
- James Cossins
- Maurice Roëves
- Robert Eddison
- Patsy Smart
- Jeremy Kemp
- John Franklyn-Robbins
- Joanna McCallum
- Jane Lapotaire
- John Grillo
- Tessa Peake-Jones
- Brian Glover
- John Fortune
- Lee Montague
- Eileen Atkins
- David Kelly
- Christopher Guard
- Nigel Terry
- John Stride
- Jacqueline Hill
- Ian Barritt
- Eileen Way
- Anna Quayle
- David Prowse
- Jonathan Hyde
- John Clegg
- David Burke
- Jeffrey Holland
- John Wells
- Geoffrey Burridge
- Hugh Quarshie
- John Woodnutt
- Anthony Hopkins
- Ralph Michael
- Diana Dors
- Susan Penhaligon
- Benjamin Whitrow
- Tony Doyle
- John Savident
- Lynn Farleigh
- Clive Dunn
- Lalla Ward
- Enn Reitel
- John Castle
- Thorley Walters
- Paul Brooke
- Darien Angadi
- Anton Lesser
- Geoffrey Chater
- Valentine Dyall
- Anthony Quayle
- Jenny Agutter
- Graham Crowden
- Patrick Ryecart
- Adrienne Corri
- Cyril Cusack
- Tony Haygarth
- Patrick Stewart
- Colin Blakely
- Gavin Richards
- Mark Dignam
- Andrew Sachs
- Angus Lennie
- Timothy West
- Kenneth Cranham
- Edward Hibbert
- Charles Keating
- John Welsh
- Ben Kingsley
- Celia Johnson
- Julian Glover
- Michele Dotrice
- John Burgess
- Elizabeth Spriggs
- Sinéad Cusack
- Cyril Luckham
- Amanda Redman
- Trevor Baxter
- Jonathan Cecil
- John McEnery
- Ingrid Pitt
- Nicol Williamson
- Patricia Hayes
- Richard Easton
- David Waller
- Ann Pennington
- Douglas Wilmer
- Michael Robbins
- Cherie Lunghi
- Frank Barrie
- Jeremy Bulloch
- Penelope Wilton
- Maureen Lipman
- Roger Daltrey
- Zoë Wanamaker
- John Bailey
- David Buck
- Joss Ackland
- Warren Clarke
- Virginia McKenna
- Juliet Stevenson
- Robert Stephens
- Angharad Rees
- Richard Johnson
- Richard O'Callaghan
- Damien Thomas
- Warren Mitchell
- Paul Daneman
- Phil Daniels
- Leonard Rossiter
- Geoffrey Lumsden
- Petra Markham
- John Bird
- Nicholas Gecks
- Noel Johnson
- Anthony Andrews
- Ralph Brown
- Robert Gwilym
- Nigel Hawthorne
- Jacqueline Pearce
- John Nettles
- Margaret Tyzack
- John Woodvine
- Timothy Bateson
- Michael Gough
- John Cleese
- Jack May
- Robert Hardy
- Dominic Jephcott
- Tim Wylton
- Jeremy Dimmick
- Michael Kitchen
- Tony Steedman
- Tim Pigott-Smith
- Richard Pasco
- Deddie Davies
- William Simons
- Bryan Marshall
- Laurence Naismith
- Ronnie Stevens
- Leon Lissek
- Richard Morant
- Peter McEnery
- Peter Whitbread
- Charles Lloyd Pack
- Christopher Ellison
- Sarah Badel
- Peter Jeffrey
- Kevin Stoney
- Mary Morris
- Declan Mulholland
- Charles Kay
- David Warner
- Joan Hickson
- Peter Vaughan
- Geoffrey Palmer
- Christopher Ettridge
- Seymour Green
- James Hazeldine
- Ronald Forfar
- John Moulder-Brown
- Suzanne Burden
- Gemma Jones
- John Abineri
- Alan Bennett
- John Paul
- Peter Salmon
- Harry Waters, Jr.
- Howard Goorney
- John Sterland
- Clive Francis
- John Abbott
- Richard Wordsworth
- Barbara Kellerman
- Ian Hogg
- Joolia Cappleman
- Danny Webb
- Susan Jameson
- Eric Porter
- Robin Sachs
- Robert Brown
- Michael Elphick
- Derek Jacobi
- Donald Sumpter
- Keith Michell
- David Robb
- John Rhys-Davies
- Marius Goring
- Andrew MacLachlan
- Ronald Pickup
- Nigel Davenport
- Patsy Kensit
- John Gielgud
- John Nettleton
- Katharine Levy
- Estelle Kohler
- Michael Bryant
- David Lloyd Meredith
- Arnold Diamond
- Brian Deacon
- Jill Baker
- Jenny Laird
- Alun Armstrong
- George Howe
- Paul Henry
- Sylvia Coleridge
- Michael Pennington
- Marc Zuber
- Stuart Fell
- Ellis Jones
- Victoria Plucknett
- Richard Owens
- Brian Stirner
- Richard Griffiths
- Robert Morris
- Jack McKenzie
- Geoffrey Beevers
- Rob Edwards
- Nigel Lambert
- Danny Schiller
- Rebecca Saire
- Mohammad Shamsi
- Neil McCarthy
- Ian Puleston-Davies
- Simon Chandler
- Christopher Strauli
- Jimmy Gardner
- Felicity Kendal
- Paul Kelly
- Yolande Palfrey
- Joseph O'Conor
- Christopher Northey
- Roger Davidson
- Zulema Dene
- David Swift
- Jonathan Adams
- Janet Maw
- Alan Dalton