The BBC is making hundreds of its Shakespeare programmes available free to schools, colleges and universities across the UK.
Hundreds of hours of radio and TV productions, interviews and programmes – spanning more than 70 years – are being released, catering for primary school children right through to post graduate students.
The collection includes vintage content, comedies including Monty Python and Upstart Crow, plus The Hollow Crown starring Ben Whishaw, Jeremy Irons and Tom Hiddleston, Russel T Davies’ production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Horrible Histories.
In total the combined collection will contain nearly 1,000 items, with more content added as it becomes available.
It will be accessible from today to all UK schools, colleges and universities that hold a licence with the Educational Recording Agency.
Peter Rippon, Executive Editor, BBC Archive, said: “The BBC’s Shakespeare collection offers a fabulous insight into how interpretations and performances have evolved. It also gives us a glimpse of early performances by some of today’s most famous actors.
“The demand for audio and video content in education is growing sharply and this partnership with the ERA is a brilliant way for the BBC to open its precious archive in new ways.’’
Sharing the Shakespeare collection with schools, colleges and universities meets the second public purpose in the BBC’s Royal Charter, to promote education and learning.
Helen Foulkes, Head of BBC Education, said: “The BBC prides itself on its contribution to educating the nation via BBC Bitesize and BBC Teach. In offering teachers the chance to view some of our greatest actors bring Shakespeare to life in the classroom, this partnership will provide an ideal complement to the extensive Shakespeare study resources we provide online.”
The collection is brought together through the ERA’s website to offer educators a streamlined, searchable platform from which to view the vast archive of BBC TV and radio productions.
The BBC Archive Centre in Perivale, West London, houses most of the BBC Archive collections across 8 vaults and 60 miles of shelving containing 15 million items, along with other sites around the UK. The BBC Archive team manages a diverse range of collections and supports research, re-use and access to BBC material.
The BBC Shakespeare Archive Resource can be found at www.era.org.uk/shakespeare-archive.
