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Cleopatra and Me: In Search of a Lost Queen

Was Cleopatra a seductress or a great politician? Shakespeare scholar Dr Islam Issa's exploration of why history and literature have recorded two very different Cleopatras.

Was Cleopatra a seductress or a great politician?

Shakespeare scholar Dr Islam Issa grew up in Birmingham with his Egyptian-born parents. As a child he was taught Cleopatra was a great politician, who turned her capital, Alexandria, into a global seat of learning and made Egypt one of the most powerful countries on the planet. But as a teenager, he realised she had a very different reputation in Britain - either a tragic Shakespearian heroine or a seductress, portrayed by screen sirens like Elizabeth Taylor.

In this programme, Dr Issa sets out to discover the story behind these two, very different, Cleopatras.

29 minutes

Last on

Wed 24 Jun 202000:55

Credits

RoleContributor
PresenterIslam Issa
Interviewed GuestPaul Edmondson
Interviewed GuestZahi Hawass
Interviewed GuestLucy Hughes-Hallett
Interviewed GuestAhmed Issa
Interviewed GuestJosette Simon
Interviewed GuestBryan Sitch
Interviewed GuestJoyce Tyldesley
Executive ProducerEmma Parkins
DirectorKieron Townend

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