The Wars of the Roses is presented here in its original form, as three plays first broadcast in 1965 and unseen since then.
As BBC executive Michael Bakewell said at the time, his aim was “to get to the heart of the production”, and these recordings have an immediacy and intensity that has rarely been equaled by Shakespeare on television. The BBC harnessed state-of-the-art production techniques to capture the three plays on John Bury‘s mammoth and menacing steel set. Working with a stellar cast including Ian Holm, Peggy Ashcroft, David Warner, Janet Suzman and Donald Sinden, Hall and Barton conjured up a vivid medieval world to reveal how the maneuverings and mendacities of the fifteenth century are echoed by politicians in our own time. Adapted and directed for the stage by Peter Hall and John Barton, The Wars of the Roses was acknowledged on its premiere in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1963 as one of the defining Shakespeare productions of the post-war years.
The Wars of the Roses is a compelling DVD and digital version of the Royal Shakespeare Company’s landmark production of William Shakespeare’s Henry VI trilogy and Richard III. “A production of epic, majestic grandeur, a landmark and a beacon in post-war English theatre.” Bernard Levin, Daily Mail, July 1963 “The real thrill of these discs … comes from watching a set of extraordinary performances from a critical moment in British acting, when the classical theatre exemplified by Olivier and Gielgud was giving way to kitchen-sink naturalism. Illuminations deserve some kind of medal.” Sight & Sound
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