Serpent of Old Nile, The

Synopsis
Fourth in a six-part radio adaptation of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar and Antony and Cleopatra directed by Dickon Reed. With Peter Whitman as narrator, Roy Dotrice as Antony and Maxine Audley as Cleopatra.
Part 4 of the series focuses on Cleopatra’s dilemma: ‘Can Cleopatra keep her lover now that he is under pressure from Octavius to return to Rome and do his duty to the state?' (op. cit.)
Series
Noble Romans, The
Language
English
Country
Great Britain
Medium
Radio
Recording date
14 Jun 1979
Transmission details
24 Nov 1979 at 18:30 (Channel: BBC World Service)
Duration
60 mins

Credits

Director
Dickon Reed
Writer
Plutarch; William Shakespeare
Cast
Roy DotriceMark Antony
Maxine AudleyCleopatra
Martin JarvisOctavius Caesar
Phillip FoxSextus Pompey
Peter JeffreyEnobarbus
Brian CarrollEros
Candida FawsittIras
David StrongDolabella
Ellis JonesClown
Fred BryantDercetus
Garard GreenLepidus
Geoffrey BeeversMessenger (3) (Messenger)
Geoffrey MatthewsSoothsayer
Hugh DicksonMaecenas
Julian FoxMessenger (2) (Messenger)
Michael BiltonSchoolmaster
Michael McStayMenas
Oliver Ford DaviesVentidius
Penelope LeeOctavia
Peter CrazeThidias
Peter PaceyCleopatra’s Messenger (Messenger)
Peter WhitmanAlexas
Peter WhitmanNarrator
Peter WickhamAgrippa
Philip SullyPhilo
Richard DerringtonDiomedes
Robert FrenchDemetrius
Rosalind AyresCharmian
Sean BarrettProculeius
Walter HallMardian

Additional Details

Production type
Television and Radio Drama
Plays
Antony and Cleopatra
Subjects
Drama
Keywords
Shakespeare, William (1564-1616)

Notes

Notes
According to programme notes, Reed used Plutarch’s Lives of the Noble Romans to provide introductions for each episode and to link passages between scenes. There has been little textual editing (op. cit.).
History
London Calling (op.cit) claims that this is the first time that Shakespeare’s two Roman plays have been presented in this way. The series ‘The Noble Romans’ was originally transmitted in six 60-minute episodes on the BBC World Service English network.
Reviews
Source: London Calling, November 1979, p.5.

Production Company

Name

BBC World Service

How to cite this record

Shakespeare, "Serpent of Old Nile, The". https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/shakespeare/search/index.php/title/av69766 (Accessed 25 Nov 2024)