Shakespeare

Synopsis: Television documentary series. The series examines the influence of famous British people. From a list of 100 people nominated by the public, the list was reduced to ten, each personality then becoming the subject of an hour-long documentary. The contenders for ‘greatest Briton’ were Isambard Kingdom Brunel, Sir Winston Churchill, Oliver Cromwell, Charles Darwin, Diana, Princess of Wales, Elizabeth I, John Lennon, Horatio Nelson, Isaac Newton and Shakespeare. In this programme actress Fiona Shaw puts the case for Shakespeare. Churchill was the eventual winner.
Series: Great Britons
Language: English
Country: Great Britain
Medium: Television
Technical information: Colour / Sound
Transmission details: 8 Nov 2002 at 21:00 (Channel: BBC2)
Duration: 60 mins

Production type: Documentary/Educational/News
Subjects: Drama
Keywords: Shakespeare, William (1564-1616); national identity; Heritage industry

Reviews: An assessment of Fiona Shaw’s advocacy for Shakespeare, and how Shakespeare is used as a symbol for British heritage, is given in ‘Brushing Up Shakespeare: Relevance and Televisual Form’ by Roberta E. Pearson and William Uricchio in A Concise Companion to Shakespeare on Screen edited by Diana E. Henderson (Oxford, Blackwell, 2006) pp. 197-215.

SHAKESPEARE