logo
episode-header-image
Aug 2023
12m 37s

The Real Macbeth

The Retrospectors
About this episode
Immortalised by Shakespeare, Scottish king Macbeth was killed in battle near Lumphanan, Aberdeenshire on 15th August 1057; a demise that brought significant changes to Scotland's monarchy. But the real Macbeth, contrary to his portrayal in the play, ruled for 17 relatively peaceful years and displayed generosity toward the church. That said, his relationship ... Show More
Up next
Yesterday
The World's Weirdest War
A 335-year-long ‘war’ (in which not a single shot was fired) officially ended on 17th April, 1986, when the UK’s Dutch ambassador landed on the Isles of Scilly and declared an end to hostilities between the Netherlands and this tiny archipelago off the coast of Cornwall. The orig ... Show More
10m 49s
Apr 16
I Name This Ship Brittania
Queen Elizabeth II stood before 30,000 spectators at Clydebank to launch HMY Britannia on 16th April, 1953. The yacht’s name had been kept secret, and when the Queen finally declared it “Britannia”, the crowd responded with a surge of cheering applause. Commissioned shortly befor ... Show More
12 m
Apr 15
Tommy Cooper Dies On Stage
Tommy Cooper's unexpected death on stage at Her Majesty's Theatre on 15th April, 1984 remains one of the saddest and most surreal moments in UK comedy history. Known for his slapstick humour and botched magic tricks, family favourite Cooper collapsed mid-act due to a massive hear ... Show More
11m 28s
Recommended Episodes
Oct 2020
Macbeth
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss one of Shakespeare’s greatest tragedies. When three witches prophesy that Macbeth will be king one day, he is not prepared to wait and almost the next day he murders King Duncan as he sleeps, a guest at Macbeth’s castle. From there we explore their ... Show More
51m 45s
Oct 2020
Macbeth
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss one of Shakespeare’s greatest tragedies. When three witches prophesy that Macbeth will be king one day, he is not prepared to wait and almost the next day he murders King Duncan as he sleeps, a guest at Macbeth’s castle. From there we explore their ... Show More
51m 45s
Feb 2023
Lady Macbeth
Playwright Zinnie Harris, author Isabelle Schuler and New Generation Thinker Emma Whipday and Michelle Assay have looked at the murdering husband and wife of Shakespeare's Scottish play. Chris Harding hosts a discussion about the Macbeth story from Kurosawa and Shostakovich to a ... Show More
44m 52s
Jan 2022
Sir Kenneth Branagh, The Tragedy of Macbeth, Cow, Scream, Ascension, Memoria and Save the Cinema
Sir Kenneth Branagh talks about his new film Belfast. Mark reviews Scream, set twenty-five years after the original series of murders in Woodsboro; Joel Coen’s adaptation of Sir William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Macbeth, about a Scottish lord who becomes convinced by a trio of ... Show More
2h 2m
Nov 2020
Saying “Macbeth” Inside a Theater
According to theatre lore, this famous play by William Shakespeare has carried a witch's curse since it's earliest performances. If you say the name 'Macbeth' inside a theater when you're not performing the Scottish Play... blood will have blood, so they say. Learn more about you ... Show More
34m 20s
Oct 2021
104. Macbeth
Something wicked this way comes. Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook take a deep dive into the real history of Scotland’s most notorious king. Was he really the murderous man of Shakespeare’s writing? Plus the boys examine the play for its insight into the politics of the time in w ... Show More
54m 40s
Mar 2023
Macbeth by William Shakespeare retold by Edith Nesbit
<p>Tonight's sleep story is Macbeth by William Shakespeare, retold by Edith Nesbit. You know the story of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth and their thirst for power at any cost originally written by William Shakespeare. This adaptation by Edith Nesbit condenses and simplifies the story ... Show More
30m 2s
Dec 2017
Hamlet
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Shakespeare's best known, most quoted and longest play, written c1599 - 1602 and rewritten throughout his lifetime. It is the story of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, encouraged by his father's ghost to take revenge on his uncle who murdered him, and is ... Show More
52m 33s
Dec 2017
Hamlet
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Shakespeare's best known, most quoted and longest play, written c1599 - 1602 and rewritten throughout his lifetime. It is the story of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, encouraged by his father's ghost to take revenge on his uncle who murdered him, and is ... Show More
52m 33s
Mar 2024
The Jacobite Succession - Who should really be King of the UK?
Join me on my historic tour of Scotland, May 15th-21st. MARCH 25th is the LAST DAY TO BOOK: https://trovatrip.com/trip/europe/united-kingdom/united-kingdom-with-lindsay-holiday-may-2024 Fans of the hit show Outlander or of Scottish history in general have likely heard of Bonnie P ... Show More
33m 25s