Six of Royal Shakespeare Company’s shows to be added to BBC iPlayer

Six of Royal Shakespeare Company’s productions will be made available online via the BBC iPlayer.

You’ll be able to watch the plays for free in the UK from April 23, the date celebrated as Shakespeare’s birthday.

The plays form part of the BBC’s Culture in Quarantine initiative. The full line up of productions is as follows:

Macbeth (2018) – directed by Polly Findlay with Christopher Eccleston and Niamh Cusack

Hamlet (2016) – directed by Simon Godwin with Paapa Essiedu

Romeo and Juliet (2018) – directed by Erica Whyman

Much Ado About Nothing (2014) – directed by Christopher Luscombe

Othello (2015) – directed by Iqbal Khan with Hugh Quarshie and Lucian Msamati

The Merchant of Venice (2015) – directed by Polly Findlay

Alongside the plays, the BBC has announced a number of TV shows to be added to its streaming service.

These include Dracula, Taboo, Tourist Trap, Rhod Gilbert’s Work Experience, My Family, Doctor Foster, The Kumars at No. 42 and Strike – 18 June.

Dan McGolpin, controller of programming and iPlayer, said: “In these difficult times, people are using BBC iPlayer more than ever; to watch the latest news coverage, to learn something new and to sit back and be entertained.”