Will Shakespeare (TV series)
| Will Shakespeare | |
|---|---|
ATV, RAI | |
| Original release | |
| Network | ITV |
| Release | 13 June – 18 July 1978 |
Will Shakespeare, also known as Life of Shakespeare and William Shakespeare: His Life & Times, is a 1978
Cast
- Tim Curry as William Shakespeare
- Ian McShane as Christopher Marlowe
- Nicholas Clay as the Earl of Southampton
- Lynette Davies as the Countess of Southampton
- Paul Freeman as Richard Burbage
- John Normington as Alex Cooke
- Ron Cook as Jack Rice
- Richard Cordery as Henry Condell
- Ronald Herdman as Sam Crosse
- Jack Heminge
- Patience Collier as Elizabeth I
- Anne Shakespeare
Writing
Each episode is based around the creation of a play and the idea of Shakespeare's life influencing his writing is used as the central plot device.
Mortimer also invented a character whom the Dark Lady of Shakespeare's sonnets was supposedly based upon. The wife of a judge, she falls in love with Shakespeare after seeing his performance as Tybalt in Romeo and Juliet, adding a secondary storyline elaborating on class divisions.[1]
Original literary material
In 1977
Video release
The series was initially released on VHS under the title William Shakespeare: His Life & Times.[2] A Region 1 DVD release of the series, by A & E television, was released in 2008, simply titled Will Shakespeare. Network Studio released a Region 2 DVD of the series in 2009 under the same title.
See also
- Will (TV series), a 2017 drama about Shakespeare
References
- ^ a b Michael Brooke. "Will Shakespeare (1978)". BFI. Retrieved 20 April 2008.
- ^ "Life of Shakespeare (1978)". IMDb. Retrieved 20 April 2008.
External links
- BFI screenonline page on Will Shakespeare (1978)
- Life of Shakespeare (TV Mini-Series 1978) at IMDb
