To Watch TV or Not to watch TV: Britbox Brings BBC Shakespeare to North America!

From Hamlet, Prince of Denmark and Romeo and Juliet to A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Taming of the Shrew – Shakespeare’s plays speak as much to the present as they related to the Bard’s time.

On May 26th, Britbox will bring the full BBC Television Shakespeare Collection to North America – thirty-six of the greatest plays ever written – featuring some of the biggest stars of British stage and screen: Dame Helen Mirren, Derek Jacobi, John Cleese, Alan Rickman, and more.

THE SHOW MUST GO ON: STREAMING SERVICE BRITBOX PRESENTS THE COMPLETE BBC TELEVISION SHAKESPEARE COLLECTION 

Audiences can stream bingeworthy master performances by multi-award winning British stars Dame Helen Mirren, Brenda Blethyn, John Cleese and Jonathan Pryce  

New York, NY, May 21, 2020 – BritBox, the subscription streaming service from BBC Studios and ITV with the largest collection of British television content in North America, will launch the full BBC Television Shakespeare Collection on May 26, exclusively on the platform. This is the first time all 37 adaptations will be available to stream in one place.

The priceless collection includes some of the finest comedies and dramas in the English language, each celebrating the Bard’s iconic contributions to the theatre. These adaptations feature some of the most masterful performers of all time. Amongst the plays are A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM and AS YOU LIKE IT with Oscar Winner Dame Helen Mirren, CYMBELINE with Robert Lindsay, HENRY VI PART I with Oscar Winner Brenda Blethyn (Vera), THE TAMING OF THE SHREW with Emmy Winner John Cleese, and ROMEO AND JULIET with Golden Globe Winner Alan Rickman.

“Never before have all 37 of BBC’s Shakespeare collection been available in one place. As a huge Shakespeare connoisseur, selfishly I wanted this for myself, I hope everyone feels the same,” states Soumya Sriraman, President & CEO BritBox. “We continue on our promise to be the only authentic British service available.”

Other titles included in the collection:

WINTER’S TALE with John Welsh, David Burke, Robert Stephens, Jeremy Kemp, John Bailey

ALL’S WELL THAT ENDS WELL with Celia Johnson, Ian Charleson, Michael Hordern, Robert Lindsay

ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA with John Paul, Jonathan Adams, Jane Lapotaire, Ian Charleson

THE TRAGEDY OF CORIOLANUS with Paul Jesson, Ray Roberts, Leon Lissek, Patrick Godfrey, Russell Kilmister

HAMLET, PRINCE OF DENMARK with Derek Jacobi, Claire Bloom, Patrick Stewart, Geoffrey Bateman

HENRY IV PART I with Jon Finch, David Gwillim, Rob Edwards, Clive Swift, Robert Morris, David Neal, Richard Owens

HENRY IV PART II with Jon Finch, David Gwillim, Rob Edwards, David Neal

HENRY V with John Abineri, Robert Ashby, Trevor Baxter, Brenda Bruce

HENRY VI PART I with John Benfield, Brenda Blethyn, Peter Benson, Michael Byrne, Anthony Brown

HENRY VI PART II with John Benfield, Peter Benson, David Burke, Arthur Cox

HENRY VI PART III with John Benfield, Peter Benson, Gerald Blackmore, Michael Byrne, Antony Brown

HENRY VIII with John Stride, Julian Glover, Ronald Pickup, Timothy West, John Rowe

JULIUS CAESAR with Richard Pasco, Charles Gray, Keitch Michell, David Collings, John Sterland

KING LEAR with Michael Hordern, John Shrapnel, Brenda Blethyn, Norman Rodway, Michael Kitchen, Penelope Wilton

LOVE’S LABOUR’S LOST with Jonathan Kent, Christopher Blake, Geoffrey Burridge, David Warner, Paddy Navin

MACBETH with Brenda Bruce, Jane Lapotaire, Anne Dyson, Mark Dignam, Nicol Williamson

MEASURE FOR MEASURE with Kenneth Colley, Kate Nelligan, John Clegg, Tim Pigott-Smith, Christopher Strauli, Eileen Page

MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING with Lee Montague, Tim Faulkner, Cherie Lunghi, Jon Finch, Robert Lindsay

PERICLES, PRINCE OF TYRE with Edward Petherbridge, John Woodvine, Edita Brychta, Patrick Godfrey, John Bardon

RICHARD II with Derek Jacobi, John Gielgud, Jon Finch, Clifford Rose, Charles Keating, Richard Owens

THE COMEDY OF ERRORS with Michael Kitchen, Roger Daltrey, Cyril Cusack, Charles Gray, Nicolas Chagrin

THE LIFE AND DEATH OF KING JOHN with Lenoard Rossiter, William Whymper, John Thaw, Mary Morris, Phyllida Law

THE MERCHANT OF VENICE with John Franklyn-Robbins, John Rhys-Davies, Alan David, John Nettles

THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR with Alan Bennett, Richard O’Callaghan, Tenniel Evans, Judy Davis, Ron Cook

THE TEMPEST with Michael Hordern, Derek Godfrey, David Waller, Warren Clarke

THE TRAGEDY OF RICHARD III with Ron Cook, Peter Benson, Antony Brown, David Burke, Michael Byrne, Arthur Cox

TIMON OF ATHENS with John Fortune, John Bird, Tony Jay, Jonathan Pryce

TITUS ANDRONICUS with Paul Davies Prowles, Edward Hardwicke, Walter Brown, Neil McCaul, Eileen Atkins

TROILUS AND CRESSIDA with Suzanne Burden, Charles Gray, Anton Lesser, Tony Steedman, Geoffrey Chater

TWELFTH NIGHT with Alec McCowen, Robert Hardy, Felicity Kendal, Sinéad Cusack, Robert Lindsay

TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA with Frank Barrie, Tessa Peake-Jones, Tyler Butterworth, Michael Byrne, Daniel Flynn

BritBox is available for $8.99 per month or $89.99 per year— after an introductory free trial period  —on Roku®, Apple TV 4th Gen, Samsung, LG, Chromecast and all iOS and Android devices, and online at www.britbox.com/ca/.