Shakespeare: The Animated Tales

1. A Midsummer Night's Dream

Air Date: 1992-11-09

Four young lovers, trying to resolve their passions, and six worthy workmen, trying to rehearse a play, stumble about in a dark, haunted wood, while the powerful spirits play havoc with their hearts and minds.

2. The Tempest

Air Date: 1992-11-16

Prospero, a powerful magician, lives on an island with his daughter Miranda. They are served by Caliban, a hideous monster, and Ariel, a wild, discontented spirit.

3. Macbeth

Air Date: 1992-11-23

4. Romeo and Juliet

Air Date: 1992-11-30

5. Hamlet

Air Date: 1992-12-07

6. Twelfth Night

Air Date: 1992-12-14

1. King Richard III

Air Date: 1994-11-02

A portrayal of Shakespeare's darkest villain Richard, Duke of Gloucester, and his unquenchable thirst for the throne.

2. The Taming of the Shrew

Air Date: 1994-11-09

Shakespeare's witty battle of the sexes is given a fresh airing in puppet animation. The unlikely bonding of a headstrong Kate and domineering Petruchio is only one aspect of a play about change and the magical transformations that theatre can produce.

3. As You Like It

Air Date: 1994-11-16

This bright and comic tale is famed as the only play written by Shakespeare in which he is known to have appeared himself - playing Adam, the old retainer to the hero Orlando. The sunniest of his comedies, the play tells of a group of courtiers escaping to the Forest of Arden where they meet, philosophise and fall in love.

4. Julius Caesar

Air Date: 1994-11-30

A compelling study of personal ambition versus the good of the state.

5. The Winter's Tale

Air Date: 1994-12-07

Exquisitely sculptured Russian puppets perform this powerful and enchanting story full of regal and rustic characters. A fit of temper has tragic results for King Leontes. Sixteen years later, the gods and humbler mortals intervene to craft a happy, magical ending.

6. Othello

Air Date: 1994-12-14

In the last in the series, the playwright's most famous dramatic study of jealousy and its tragic effects are conveyed vividly in a striking drawn animation style. The warmth of the Mediterranean contrasts with the coldness in lago's heart as he turns his noble master, Othello, against the beautiful and innocent Desdemona.