The literary classics get a modern-day setting in the BBC's new take on the works of the Bard. ...

by Stuart Weightman, TV Zone, November 2005

By the pricking of our thumbs, something special this way comes. The BBC gains an extra B this month, as a selection of the Bard's timeless plays are brought to life in contemporary settings in a season of Shakespearian shake-ups.

In a similar vein to the re-imaginings of Chaucer's Tales aired last year by the Beeb, four dramas are being broadcast using the themes and basic story arc of the original plays, but giving them a modern spin. But for those wireless devotees who think the pictures are always better on the radio, Radio Three is also airing a season of Shakespeare plays, which began with Troilus And Cressida on October 30th, and will continue with Pericles on 27th November. The former, set in the closing days of the Trojan War, stars Paterson Joseph (of Doctor Who's Bad Wolf), Nikki Amuka-Bird and Paul Rhys, and was directed by the appropriately named Mark Beeby, while the latter is a multicultural update following the Prince of Tyre over a 16-year odyssey, and is directed by Gaynor Macfarlane.

BBC One's series started with Much Ado About Nothing, directed by Brian Percival, and starring Doctor Who's Billie Piper (who also had a part in last year's Chaucer adaptations), alongside Sarah Parish and Damian Lewis, which told the story as the story of a pair of television presenters forced to put their differences aside to form a professional relationship. Piper speaks highly of the episode's writer David Nichols, stating that, "Every line in the script is a corker." The former singer continues, "At drama school we studied Shakespeare three days a week, so when the script was floating around, I was quite keen to get a look at it. When I heard that Sarah and Damian were involved, I knew I'd be in good company." Another Who star, David Tennant, will assume lead-role duty for the radio version of the same tale.

Following on from this, Macbeth is adapted by Peter Moffet and directed by Mark Brozell, and stars James McAvoy and Spooks's Keeley Hawes as the power-hungry couple. But instead of a castle overlooking the Scottish Highlands however, this interpretation takes place in a kitchen! Perhaps Gordon Ramsey could have played King Duncan? Radio Three's modern version will star Ken Stott in the lead role.

For a more feel-good dose of classic theatre, The Taming Of The Shrew stars Twiggy Lawson, Stephen Tomkinson and Shirley Henderson, and plays for comedy as Blair Babe MP looks for love (or rather a trophy husband to aid her career) in London's inner circle.

Continuing the comedy and romance is A Midsummer Night's Dream directed by Ed Fraiman, where Johnny Vegas stars as Bottom, joined by Imelda Staunton, Bill Paterson, and Lennie James.