William Shakespeare
1) Hamlet
In this BBC full-cast production of The Taming of the Shrew, the freedom and virility of women is frowned upon. Will Petruchio's quest to 'tame' his new wife succeed?
Layers of assumed identity, elaborate role-playing, and acerbic exchanges of wit reveal the real relationship between men and women in this exuberant production of one of Shakespeare's earliest comedies.
Gerard McSorley stars as Petruchio and Ruth Mitchell
In this BBC full-cast production, the ghost of Hamlet's father orders him to kill the man who took his life, his throne and his wife: Claudius.
In a tale of caution, tragedy and revenge, Hamlet is driven to madness by his mission and his father's legacy.
Michael Sheen stars as Hamlet, with Kenneth Cranham as Claudius, Juliet Stevenson as Gertrude and Ellie Beaven as Ophelia.
BBC radio has a unique heritage
In this BBC full-cast production of The Merchant of Venice, love, bigotry, greed, and justice are entwined.
Shakespeare's classic play explores the eternal themes of love and hate, mercy and justice, with parallel stories centred on the moneylender, Shylock, and the lovers, Portia and Bassanio. Shylock's angry insistence on the repayment of his debt from Bassanio ends in the Venetian courts, where he demands his pound of flesh.
In this BBC full-cast production, King Lear tests his three daughters' love, with disastrous consequences.
Some of the most stirring scenes Shakespeare ever wrote resonate powerfully in this dramatic radio production. Tortured madness, pure evil, and the fatal struggle for power grip the listener until the final, shockingly tragic conclusion.
Starring Corin Redgrave as King Lear, with Justine Waddell as Cordelia,
In this BBC full-cast production of Much Ado About Nothing, some handsome soldiers return from battle. Yet one soldier finds himself locked in a merry war of his own...
In Shakespeare's comedy of wit, love and miscommunication, Beatrice and Benedick and Hero and Claudio are pushed into and pulled out of love, their friends playing cupid with life-changing consequences.
David Tennant and Samantha Spiro star as the famous