Shakespeare: Rise of a Genius

Shakespeare: Rise of a Genius

3 Episodes

How a glover's son from rural Stratford became the greatest writer who ever lived. Explores how Shakespeare's creative genius was nourished by a dangerous and exciting world filled with bitter rivalries, rebellion, murder and deadly plague.

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Shakespeare: Rise of a Genius
  • Episode 1

    Episode 1

    TV-14. William Shakespeare leaves the small rural town of Stratford to pursue his dreams of becoming a playwright in the dangerous, growing metropolis of London. Public theatre is red-hot modernity, and Shakespeare begins his journey at the very bottom.

  • Episode 2

    Episode 2

    TV-PG-V. A 30-year-old Shakespeare is at the top of his game: he's got a job and England's best theatre company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men, and the money is rolling in. Determined to restore his family's reputation, Shakespeare works harder than ever.

  • Episode 3

    Episode 3

    TV-14. Shakespeare's life and legacy is threatened when the Gunpowder Plot unearths a secret he has worked all his life to bury: his family are Catholics, traitors to the crown. When his daughter is implicated in the fallout, Shakespeare produces "Macbeth".