In 1979 Trevor Nunn, then artistic director of Britain's Royal Shakespeare Company, created a TV workshop on the art and technique of acting in Shakespeare's plays. He was joined by RSC co-founder and Associate Director John Barton and a group of the leading RSC actors of the day. There were 9 programs that aired from 1979 - 1984.
Among the actors participating in PLAYING SHAKESPEARE were: Ian McKellen (Gandolf/Magneto), Patrick Stewart (Captain Picard/Prof. X), Ben Kingsley (Gandhi/Schindler's List), Judi Dench (M from the Bond films/As Time Goes By), David Suchet (Hercule Poirot) and Peggy Ashcroft.
And here is Fry & Laurie's parody of PLAYING SHAKESPEARE. It's a sketch about a Shakespeare masterclass ("an actor prepares"), where a teacher (Stephen Fry) with delusions of grandeur gives pretentious, nonsensical acting advice to his eager student (Laurie).
