Episode 1

Legendary BBC producer Charles Parker's 1960s take on William Shakespeare's tale featuring songs and music by Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger.

The first of a two-parts narrated by Brian Byrne.

With Sandra Culver as the Market Woman, Terry Yarnell as Ted Montague, Bobby Campbell as Benny (Benvolio), Ted Culver as Ron (Romeo), Brian Pearson as Tim (Tybalt), John Faulkner as Arnold Capley (Capulet), Greta Cummings as Mrs Marjorie Capley, Sandra Faulkner as Juliet, Denis Turner as Wizz (Mercutio) and Jim O'Connor as Uncle Larry (Friar Lawrence)

Charles Parker (1919-1980) is best remembered for his BBC Radio Ballads - ground-breaking documentaries produced with Ewan MacColl starting in the late 1950s. They were hailed as masterpieces of radio, weaving the voices of rarely-heard communities with songs written from and about the recorded experiences of the interviewees.

Producer: Charles Parker

First broadcast on the BBC Home Service in May 1966.