Royal Shakespeare Company

A monarch ordained by God to lead his people. But he is also a man of very human weakness. A man whose vanity threatens to divide the great houses of England and drag his people into a dynastic civil war that will last 100 years.

Hamlet's father, the King of Denmark, dies. His mother marries his uncle Claudius, the new king. The ghost of Hamlet's father claims Claudius killed him. Hamlet seeks revenge against Claudius for his father's murder.

On a distant island a man waits. Robbed of his position, power and wealth, his enemies have left him in isolation. But this is no ordinary man, and this no ordinary island. Prospero is a magician, able to control the very elements and bend nature to his will. When a sail appears on the horizon, he reaches out across the ocean to the ship that carries the men who wronged him. Creating a vast magical storm he wrecks the ship and washes his enemies up on the shore. When they wake they find themselves lost on a fantastical island where nothing is as it seems.

Cymbeline is a ruler of a divided Britain. When Innogen, the only living heir, marries her sweetheart in secret, an enraged Cymbeline banishes him. But a powerful figure behind the throne is plotting to seize power and murder them both.

Autumn 1918. A group of soldiers return from the trenches. The world-weary Benedick and his friend Claudio find themselves reacquainted with Beatrice and Hero. As memories of conflict give way to a life of parties and masked balls, Claudio and Hero fall madly, deeply in love, while Benedick and Beatrice reignite their own altogether more combative courtship. Set amidst the brittle high spirits of a post-war house party, where youthful passions run riot, lovers are deceived and happiness is threatened - before peace ultimately wins out.

Summer 1914. In order to dedicate themselves to a life of study, the King and his friends take an oath to avoid the company of women for three years. No sooner have they made their idealistic pledge than the Princess of France and her ladies-in-waiting arrive, presenting the men with a severe test of their high-minded resolve.

King Lear divides his kingdom among his children, but misjudges their loyalty. Stripped of power, he's left alone in the wilderness to confront his mistakes and the consequences of his actions.

William Shakespeare's play as performed by the Barbican Theater in 1999.

The second play in Shakespeare's series of histories covering the reigns of Richard II, Henry IV and Henry V. Shakespeare muses on the consequences of actions, the role of princes and the realities of wielding power.

The RSC puts a modern spin on Shakespeare's Hamlet in this filmed-for-television version of their stage production. The Prince of Denmark seeks vengeance after his father is murdered and his mother marries the murderer.

A celebration of the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death, broadcast live at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon.

Shakespeare's tale of young love, betrayal, cross-dressing, and redemption.

Henry IV dies, Hal becomes King Henry V. England unsettled, he aims to gain nobility's respect. Insulted by French Dauphin, Henry invades France hoping to unite England through war.

Vengeful Iago seeks to bring down the general Othello, his Lieutenant and his wife in this RSC production of Shakespeare's tragedy.

Much Ado About Nothing contrasts the happiness of lovers Claudio and Hero, and the cynicism of sparring partners Beatrice and Benedick, who are united in their scorn for love.

A television production of Shakespeare's enduring comedy Measure for Measure from the Globe Theatre.

When a young novice nun is compromised by a corrupt official, who offers to save her brother from execution in return for sex, she has no idea where to turn for help. When she threatens to expose him, he tells her that no one would believe her.

Following Caesar's assassination, Mark Antony has reached the heights of power. Now he has neglected his empire for a life of decadent seduction with his mistress, Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt. Torn between love and duty, Antony's military brilliance deserts him, and his passion leads the lovers to their tragic end.

Timon has it all - money, influence, friends. Surely it can't last? When the money runs out, Timon soon finds her influence and friends have also gone. Left alone, she flees Athens to take refuge in the woods, cursing the city she once loved.

Grotesquely violent and daringly experimental, Titus was the smash hit of Shakespeare's early career, and is written with a ghoulish energy he was never to repeat elsewhere.