SHAKESPEARE

Synopsis

Comedic radio play by Marty Ross set in the Scottish Highlands in 1605. The royal playwright Shaxberd saves King James from assassination and attempts to save an innocent girl from being burnt as a witch.
"The play takes its prompt from historical facts: James’s obsession with witchcraft and the political paranoia post-Gunpowder Plot; Shakespeare’s being sometimes credited as ‘Shaxberd’ (might it have been his actual name?), his awkward position at court as a Catholic glove-maker’s son, his rewriting of Scottish history in ‘Macbeth’ to flatter King James (Banquo’s descendant); as well as the probably apocryphal story that The King’s Men may have toured Scotland prior to the writing of ‘Macbeth’." (BBC programme notes).

Series

Afternoon Drama

Language

English

Country

Great Britain

Medium

Radio

Transmission details

12 Apr 2011 at 14:15 (Channel: BBC Radio 4)

Duration

45 mins

Credits

Producer

David Ian Neville

Writer

Marty Ross

Cast

David Walker	McGlee
John Paul Hurley	William Shaxberd
Richard Conlon	King James
Robert Jack	Lord Riddrie
Sally Reid	Shona
Steven McNicoll	McIver
Terry Wale	Courtier

Additional Details

Production type

Television and Radio Drama

Plays

Macbeth

Subjects

Drama

Keywords

biographies; Shakespeare, William (1564-1616); King James I

Production Company

Name

BBC

Notes

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Archive

Name

BoB

Email

bob@learningonscreen.ac.uk

Web

https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/ondemand External site opens in new window

Phone

020 3743 2345

Address

Learning on Screen - the British Universities and Colleges Film and Video Council
330 Holborn Gate
1st Floor, Suite 120
London
WC1V 7QH

Notes

Formerly a service from BUFVC, British Universities Film & Video Council

Name

British Library Sound Archive

Email

listening@bl.uk

Web

http://www.bl.uk/nsa External site opens in new window

Phone

020 7412 7676

Fax

020 7412 7441

Address

96 Euston Road
London
NW1 2DB

Name

Learning on Screen Off-Air Recording Back-up Service

Email

services@bufvc.ac.uk

Web

http://bufvc.ac.uk/tvandradio/offair External site opens in new window

Phone

020 7393 1514

Fax

020 7393 1555

Address

For Learning on Screen Members only
77 Wells Street
London
W1T 3QJ