In 1978, the BBC set itself the task of filming all of William Shakespeare's plays for television. The resulting productions, renowned for their loyalty to the text, utilised the best theatrical and television directors and brought highly praised performances from leading contemporary actors - THE TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA [1983] Two great friends leave Verona for Milan, Valentine with great enthusiasm and Proteus unwillingly, as he will have to leave his recently-betrothed Julia. Valentine soon falls in love with Silvia, daughter of the Duke of Milan, but then Proteus meets the captivating Silvia, and he too becomes besotted. Henry is a proud monarch who flies in the face of the church in seeking to divorce Queen Katherine and marry Anne Bullen. As Cardinal Wolsey, the powerful Lord Chancellor of England, attempts to bend Rome to the King's wishes, the court reverberates with political intrigue and accusation of treachery. The verbal jousting of Timothy West and Claire Bloom (as Cardinal Wolsey and Katherine of Aragon) illuminates this rare production of the near-full text of one of Shakespeare's last plays. Shot entirely on location in English castles and stately homes, it was cited by the Shakespeare Association of America as the best of the BBC series.

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