Helen Hackett
Professor of English Literature at University College London
3 episodes
Covers topics in categories such as:
CultureBurials at Westminster AbbeyEnglish Renaissance playsPlays adapted into operasBritish plays adapted into filmsEnglish AnglicansFiction about suicidePeople of the Elizabethan eraEnglish women poetsPlays adapted into television showsLove storiesPlays set in ancient GreeceShakespearean tragediesEnglish people of Welsh descentHouse of TudorPeople excommunicated by the Catholic ChurchPlays adapted into radio programsShakespearean comediesPlays set in Athens16th-century English womenPrisoners in the Tower of LondonFounders of English schools and colleges1590s playsLiterary duosFiction about poisoningsPlays set in ItalyMetafictional playsCultural depictions of TheseusPlays about fairies16th-century English translators16th-century queens regnant
Romeo and Juliet
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the poetry and power of Shakespeare's tragedy of two young lovers in Verona, their families divided by a bitter feud
17 February 2022
Also featuring: Paul Prescott, Emma Smith
A Midsummer Night's Dream
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the ideas behind Shakespeare's comedy with its intertwining plots of royal marriage, crossed lovers, quarreling fairies and rude mechanicals
18 April 2019
Also featuring: Tom Healy, Alison Findlay
The Death of Elizabeth I
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the death of Queen Elizabeth I and its immediate impact, as a foreign monarch became King in the face of plots and plague.
15 October 2009
Also featuring: John Guy, Clare Jackson
CultureEnglish people of Welsh descent16th-century English womenEnglish AnglicansPrisoners in the Tower of LondonHouse of TudorPeople excommunicated by the Catholic ChurchFounders of English schools and colleges16th-century English translatorsPeople of the Elizabethan eraEnglish women poets16th-century queens regnantBurials at Westminster Abbey16th century