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Shakespeare's Stages

Leading actor and Shakespeare scholar Michael Pennington discusses the direct effect on the dramatist's writing of the theatres he wrote for, so different from ours.

Shakespeare's Fame

This final lecture will show how Shakespeare helped to immortalize the famous figures of ancient Greece and Rome, and how he in turn became famous after his death.

Shakespeare's Ghosts and Spirits

In this lecture, Jonathan Bate will summon up the ghosts of Old Hamlet, the victims of Richard III and Julius Caesar, revealing their origins in the bloody plays of Seneca.

It is well known that Shakespeare lived in an age of monarchy and wrote powerfully in his English history plays about the duties of the sovereign. In this lecture, Jonathan Bate will tell another, forgotten story: of how Shakespeare was also fascinated by Roman political models.

Shakespeare's Lovers

The Rape of Lucrece set the mould for Shakespeare’s exploration of the tragic consequences of sexual desire turning to violence. Jonathan Bate will show how Shakespeare developed these themes from his reading of the great Roman poet Ovid.

Shakespeare's Heroes

What do we mean by a hero and where does our understanding of the ‘heroic’ idiom come from? In this lecture, Jonathan Bate will show how Shakespeare’s idea of the hero was shaped by the classical tradition, going back to the ancient tale of Troy and Virgil’s epic poem The Aeneid.

Shakespeare's London and Ancient Rome

Jonathan Bate tells the story of how and why Shakespeare was steeped in the classics, from his earliest plays such as Titus Andronicus and The Comedy of Errors to his dramatisations of the stories of Julius Caesar and Antony and Cleopatra.

From Royal Highway to Common Sewer: The River Thames and its Architecture

The Thames is the reason that London is where it is and the river has had a decisive influence on the growth of the city since Roman Times.

Xtreme Everest: Taking Medicine from Mountainside to Bedside

In 2007, a team of doctors and scientists ascended to the roof of the world to understand more about how we adapt to high altitude - and why some of us adapt better than others. Uncovered is 15 years of research aiming to understand how humans adapt to low oxygen levels when critically ill.

Under the Sea: What's Happening in Our Oceans?

Scientists are now finding increasing evidence of the terrible extent of human-induced damage of the sea. What attempts are being made to reduce this footprint of human activity, and can they succeed in restoring the largest living space on earth?

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