Programme Index

Discover 11,128,835 listings and 279,889 playable programmes from the BBC

Shakespeare: Rise of a Genius

Series 1

Episode 3

Duration: 59 minutes

First broadcast: on BBC Two HDLatest broadcast: on BBC Two Wales

Available for years

Shakespeare’s life and legacy is threatened when the Gunpowder Plot unearths a secret he has worked all his life to bury: his family are Catholics, traitors to the crown. When his daughter is implicated in the fallout, Shakespeare unleashes his most epic work to date: Macbeth, which appeals to the new monarch, King James I. As Shakespeare teeters towards death, he reflects on his successes and failures, questioning family, forgiveness and mortality as his work is at risk of being lost forever. Show less

About this data

This data is drawn from the data stream that informs BBC's iPlayer and Sounds. The information shows what was scheduled to be broadcast, meaning it was/is subject to change and may not be accurate. More