Shakespeare's Restless World
BBC Radio 4 series

16 April – 11 May 2012
13.45 and 19.45 weekdays

 

A BBC/British Museum partnership

Recommend this series

In a 20-part series to be broadcast on BBC Radio 4, Neil MacGregor, the Director of the British Museum, looks at the world through the eyes of Shakespeare's audience by exploring objects from that turbulent period.

Neil uses objects to explore the great issues of the day that preoccupied the public and helped shape the works and considers what they can reveal about the concerns and beliefs of Shakespearean England.

Contributing to the programmes will be Shakespeare scholars, historians and experts on witchcraft and warfare, fencing and food, luxury trade and many other topics. They discuss the issues these objects raise – everything from exploration and discovery to violence, entertainment and the plague.

Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, and Paul Kobrak, BBC Radio 4, recording the radio series.

 

Explore the website

Listen to the programmes and more

With fresh insights into the restless world of Shakespeare's day, this series brings a new perspective to how we view our most famous playwright's work 400 years on. Find out more about the objects and their place in the culture and society of Shakespeare's world.

See the website 

Blog

All blog posts 

Online discussion

See what was said

Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, and curator and radio series curator, Barrie Cook, answered questions from the public during a live online event.

See the discussion 

See the objects

Take a closer look at the 20 objects

The objects, drawn mainly from collections around the country, vary from the magnificent to the prosaic, from ceremonial to the everyday.

See all objects from the radio series 

Exhibition

Shakespeare: staging the world

From 19 July to 25 November 2012, the objects featured in the radio series and many other objects will be on display at the British Museum in this major exhibition.

Find out more