Playing Shakespeare (1982)

Name: Playing Shakespeare
Genre: Documentary
Rating: 9.5
Cast: Lisa Harrow, Sinéad Cusack, John Barton, Patrick Stewart, Richard Pasco

Documentary

John Barton holds a master class in how to play Shakespeare, using members of the RSC doing scenes, sonnets, and commentary as prime examples.

IMDb rating: 9.5 (231 votes)
Episode average: 9.1 -0.4 vs IMDb
Seasons: 1
Language: EN
Type: Mini-series

Rating trend: this show's seasons do not settle into one shape. Rising Shows ranks whole shows by the shape of their rating trend rather than one average score, which is how you find a show that got better rather than a show that started well.

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Ratings refreshed Oct 3, 2026 · 1 season indexed

Cast

Seasons

Season 1 (1982)

9.12 avg 9 episodes 9.6 → 9.3 51 min avg

Season 1 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	The Two Traditions	9.6	10
2	Using the Verse	9.4	8
3	Language and Character	8.9	10
4	Exploring a Character	9.5	10
5	Set Speeches and Soliloquies	9.1	8
6	Irony and Ambiguity	8.8	8
7	Passion and Coolness	8.7	7
8	Rehearsing the Text	8.8	6
9	Poetry and Hidden Poetry	9.3	7