British Universities Film & Video Council

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Much Ado About Nothing

Synopsis
Televised adaptation based on a National Theatre stage production by Franco Zeffirelli, starring real-life married couple Maggie Smith and Robert Stephens as Beatrice and Benedick.
Language
English
Country
Great Britain
Medium
Television
Notes
The cast of 43 actors spent more than 3 weeks in rehearsal for the televised version, which was pre-recorded in the studio on January 11, 1967. Alan Cooke, who adapted the play for television, observes: "Paradoxically, one needed to change a great deal to make it come out the same [...]. The original was a very two-dimensional production; I tried on television to create the feeling of being among a performance going on" (qtd. in Bernard Adams, "Much Ado", Radio Times, 2 February 1967, p.11).

The Library of Congress copy is from a transmission on PBS.
Subjects
Drama
Keywords
Shakespeare, William (1564-1616)

Credits

Director
Alan Cooke
Producer
Cedric Messina; Robert Stephens
Writer
William Shakespeare
Music
Nino Rota
Art Direction
Mel Cornish
Contributor
Franco Zeffirelli; Robert Graves
Cast
Caroline John 
Carolyn Johns 
David Hargreaves 
David Ryall 
Denis De Marne 
Derek Jacobi 
Edward Petherbridge 
Frank Finlay 
Gerald James 
Graham Crowden 
Harry Lomax 
John McEnery 
Maggie Smith 
Michael Byrne 
Neil Fitzpatrick 
Paul Curran 
Robert Stephens 
Ronald Pickup 
Wynnne Clark 

Production Company

Name

BBC

Notes
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Archive

Name

Library of Congress, Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division

Web
http://loc.gov/rr/record External site opens in new window
Phone
(202) 707-7833
Address
Recorded Sound Reference Centre
101 Independence Avenue, S.E.
Room LM-113
Washington, DC 20540
View this record on the Shakespeare site for additional details

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