SHAKESPEARE

Synopsis

Chat show hosted by Michael Parkinson. Jonathan Miller is the first guest and talks for c17 minutes. He states that he prefers directing plays and operas to performing. He directed A Midsummer Night’s Dream in Vienna and believes that there is a different approach to Shakespeare and the classics on the continent. He speaks of his new job producing and directing plays in the BBC Television Shakespeare series. His interest rests in Shakespeare’s use of language to express human relations when today language is often used as an instrument of repression. He talks of the great use of humour in tragedies, for example King Lear. He believes that that there is no definitive version of Shakespeare. He considers himself a bad performer. Other guests were Janet Suzman (who does not talk about Shakespeare), Ian Dury, Max Wall and Rob Wilton.

Series

Parkinson

Language

English

Country

Great Britain

Medium

Television

Technical information

Colour / Sound

Transmission details

12 Jan 1980 at 23:21 (Channel: BBC1)

Duration

60 mins

Credits

Director

John Hughes

Producer

John Fisher

Contributor

Jonathan Miller; Michael Parkinson

Additional Details

Production type

Other

Keywords

Shakespeare, William (1564-1616); Stage directing; BBC Television Shakespeare series

Production Company

Name

BBC

Notes

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Archive

Name

BFI National Archive

Web

http://www.bfi.org.uk/archive-collections/searching-access-collections/research-viewing-services External site opens in new window

Phone

020 7255 1444

Fax

020 7436 0165

Address

21 Stephen Street
London
W1T 1LN