Shakespeare: Rise of a Genius is a three-part docuseries designed to give us some fresh insight into the life of the greatest writer who ever lived, and it's now available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
Described by the BBC as 'the centerpiece' of the BBC's 400 years of Shakespeare's First Folio season, Shakespeare: Rise of a Genius brings together academics, writers, and an a-list cast of actors to provide a new look at Shakespeare's incredible story and reveal how a humble glover's son from Stratford went on to become the star that he was.
The series combines cinematic vignettes of the Bard's life with contributions from its many guests, and will also feature archival footage of some of the best-ever recorded adaptations of his featured plays. Expect to see the mysteries of the Bard's personal life, including his relationship with his wife and the death of his 11-year-old son, Hamnet, brought to life before our eyes.
Here's what you need to know about Shakespeare: Rise of a Genius.
Shakespeare: Rise of a Genius release date
The final episode of Shakespeare: Rise of a Genius airs on BBC Two on Monday, November 20 at 9 pm. All three episodes are available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
Shakespeare: Rise of a Genius originally premiered on Wednesday, November 8. If you enjoy the series, don't forget to check out our top picks for the very best BBC documentaries you should be streaming right now, too.
Who appears in Shakespeare: Rise of a Genius?
In a press release about the Shakespeare programming block, the BBC confirmed which stars and writers had contributed to the new show.
Expect to see A-Listers like Dame Judi Dench, Dame Helen Mirren, Brian Cox, Adrian Lester, Lolita Chakrabarti, Marin Freeman and Jessie Buckley.
Of his work, Judi Dench said: "Look for something you're concerned about and you'll find it in Shakespeare.
"You'll find it expressed in such a way it might make a difference to you for the rest of your life. His understanding of everything, of love, of anger, of jealousy, of rage, melancholy - who did it better, who has ever done it better? I wish I'd met him, oh I wish I'd met him."
Succession's Brian Cox (who has played King Lear and Titus Andronicus on stage) said: "Shakespeare's greatness is that he always tells the truth and I think he touches on subjects such as love like nobody else.
"His plays are infected by his life - there is a lot of stuff there that's really about him. He also understands audiences. You've got to keep them on their toes, to keep surprising them."
In addition to these stars, you'll also hear from academics and writers such as James Shapiro and Jeanette Winterson. The series is narrated by Juliet Stevenson.
What is Shakespeare: Rise of a Genius about?
As we mentioned, the three-part series was originally produced in order to help celebrate the 400th anniversary of the publication of Shakespeare's First Folio, the book that collected the plays William Shakespeare penned during his lifetime.
A new synopsis of the series from the BBC gives a much clearer picture of what Shakespeare: Rise of a Genius will look like. It reads: "Taking a deep dive into Shakespeare’s life story, the place and time he inhabited and the work he produced, the series reveals a dangerous and exciting world filled with bitter rivalries, rebellion, murder and deadly plague, that ignited and nourished his creative genius.
Cinematic drama vignettes depict Shakespeare’s life alongside a host of stars and experts, including Dame Judi Dench, Brian Cox, Adrian Lester, Lolita Chakrabarti, Helen Mirren, Martin Freeman and Jessie Buckley, alongside academics and writers James Shapiro, Ewan Fernie, Jeanette Winterson, Brenda Hale, The Baroness Hale of Richmond, Gordon Brown, Jeremy O'Harris and Professor Farah Karim-Cooper, bringing fresh insights into the story of our greatest writer. The series is narrated by Juliet Stevenson.
Tracing Shakespeare’s life story, each episode follows the triumphs and setbacks of his writing life, revealing how the people he met and the world he witnessed found their way into his work. Bringing his plays to life, and intercut through the series, is archive of some of the world’s best screen adaptations of the featured plays."
Shakespeare: Rise of a Genius cast
Daniel Boyarsky plays the main man himself, William Shakespeare in the dramatic vignettes that will appear throughout Shakespeare: Rise of a Genius.
In addition, we know Béla Szomori portrays the patron of Shakespeare's theatre company, Lord Henry Carey, while Petra Lippai-Horváth plays Queen Elizabeth I, Máte Kovács portrays King James, and Gergely Máté Kiss is on hand as the celebrate Elizabethan actor, Richard Burbage,
Is there a Shakespeare: Rise of a Genius trailer?
Yes! The trailer offers a very brief look at some of the vignettes of Shakespeare's life, setting them against the high praise for his work from some of the most notable actors around.
What else is there to know about Shakespeare: Rise of a Genius?
Suzy Klein, Head of BBC Arts and Classical TV, said of the series: "Shakespeare lived in a dangerous age of plague, violence, vicious rivalries and political assassinations and his very survival is something of a miracle. His work was almost lost to history, and without the First Folio being published in 1623, eighteen of his greatest plays would have been lost forever. We would have none of those immortal characters such as Cleopatra and Marc Anthony, Macbeth or Malvolio, Prospero and Ariel.
"Shakespeare changed the way we talk, the words we use, our films, books, catchphrases and memes, the very way we think – and yet we know very little about him. This major new season pieces together the clues from his life and work to reveal the driving forces behind the glover's son from Stratford upon Avon who became the greatest writer that ever lived. ”
