A portrayal of Shakespeare's darkest villain Richard, Duke of Gloucester, and his unquenchable thirst for the throne.
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Screenplay Leon Garfield; Director Natasha Orlova
Series editors Martin Lamb and Penelope Middelboe
(Stereo) (Subtitled)

Shakespeare - the Animated Tales 7.30pm BBC2
Six more plays from the canon receive the animated treatment, employing the same broad range of techniques that enlivened the first series, shown in 1992. Scheduled as part of BBC2 's continuing Bard on the Box season, the series opens with Antony Sher returning to the role of Richard III, which he played to great acclaim with the Royal Shakespeare Company. His voice is joined by those of Eleanor Bron as the Queen, Tom Wilkinson as Buckingham and Alec McCowen as the narrator; the characters are brought to life on painted glass, a technique used in Hamlet in the first series.

Shakespeare - the Animated Tales continues with The Taming of the Shrew, As You Like It, The Winter's Tale, Julius Caesar and Othello.