SHAKESPEARE GOES INTERACTIVE

SHAKESPEARE'S STORIES - ON BROADBAND

Technical Information

This is a BBC trial to test the delivery of high bandwidth content. On launching a service from the 'LAUNCH INTERACTIVE' buttons below we will test your internet connection speed to make sure that we can deliver a satisfactory experience of this service to you. As this is a pilot broadband project we regret that we cannot offer content below a set connection speed or to non-UK users. Some non-domestic users may also experience problems accessing the service. For more information on any of this please see the Help section at the top right hand side of the page. If you do suffer any problems accessing or using the service tell us via the Feedback section.

[Any users unable to enjoy Shakespeare Interactive can still enjoy video content throughout the Shakespeare TV Dramas website]

Connection Speeds:

• Users with 1MB or above connections will receive content delivered at 320kbps
• Users with 320K to 1MB connections will receive content delivered at 256kbps
• Users with 320K or below connections will not receive content

It is also recommended that your computer has at least the following specification:

• Macromedia Flash Player 8 [download for free now]
• Internet Explorer 5.0, Netscape 6.2, Firefox 1.0.4 PC, Safari 1.2.2
• 450Mhz processor or equivalent
• 128MB of RAM
• 128MB video card
• 800 x 600 minimum screen resolution

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READY TO INTERACT?

Shakespeare's Stories
Explore all four of BBC ONE's modern Shakespeare adaptions together here or enjoy added options via the separate play links below.



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A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night’s Dream is set in a forest inhabited by fairies on a midsummer’s night, it is concerned with love, marriage and society. The fairy monarchs Oberon and Titania, have quarrelled. Oberon enchants Titania with the juice of a magic flower and she falls rapturously in love with Bottom, the weaver, who has been bewitched by Puck in an altogether different way. This enchantment, and others practised by the fairies on mere mortals in the forest, must be lifted before the end of a midsummer’s night.



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The Taming Of The Shrew
Throughout this play the two main characters, Katarina and Petruchio have indulged in lively sparring and debate. In the final scene Katarina declares to all women what she thinks their duty is to men, specifically their husbands. Sally Wainwright the writer of BBC ONE's modern adaptation ended her script with the same scene, almost the same words. Here is the original and for good measure Katarina is played not by a woman, but by a man just as she would have been in Shakespeare's time.



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Macbeth
We are going to start with a classic soliloquy from Macbeth, Act 2 Scene1. This scene occurs after Macbeth a general in the service of Duncan, King of Scotland returns victorious from battle. He is hailed by three witches who prophesize that he will become first Thane of Cawdor and then King of Scotland. The first part of the prophesy is soon fulfilled. Encouraged by this, and by his ambitious wife, Macbeth plots to murder the king while he is a guest at their castle. Now he sits alone, waiting for the bell which will summon him to murder, anguishing over his decision one final time.



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Much Ado About Nothing
This play is made up of a series of deceptions played out within the strict social coda of the court. The most treacherous of these deceits is that carried out in the name of Don John, and sees the Lady Hero accused of being unfaithful to her fiance Claudio.



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SHAKESPEARE'S STORIES - ON TV