Episodes
Simon Schama’s Shakespeare: This England (BBC Four Sunday 29 October 2023)
Simon Schama’s Shakespeare: This England airs Sunday 29 October 2023 on BBC Four.
What is this episode about
Simon Schama argues that it is impossible to comprehend Shakespeare’s ‘to all time’ status without first appreciating how thoroughly he reflected his era.
Schama delves into how Shakespeare crafted a timeless vision of England in his history plays. Shakespeare’s dramatic portrayals of English history and the English character emerged against the backdrop of the Reformation.
From his first major success, Henry VI, he made sure that regular English people, not just royalty, were the focus of his depictions of England.
Shakespeare’s masterpiece Henry IV, which depicts England in glorious technicolour and features everyone from kings to pickpockets, country squires to common prostitutes, corrupt knights to ragged soldiers, further develops this inclusive vision. And at its core is the enormous figure of Sir John Falstaff, who captivated Elizabethan audiences and continues to evoke strong emotions in modern readers.
Shakespeare’s greatest creation, Falstaff is an oversized ideal of Englishness who more fully personifies the essence of English irreverence, generosity, and wit than any other character on stage.
Not only that, but a remarkable ensemble performs some of Shakespeare’s most heartfelt and introspective soliloquies.
Episode 1 of 2
When can we see the episode
Simon Schama’s Shakespeare: This England airs Sunday 29 October 2023 at 1.05am on BBC Four
Featured Image Credit: BBC Four
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