BBC to screen modern Shakespeare

Rufus Sewell starred in Charles II: The Power and The Passion

The BBC is to film four contemporary adaptations of Shakespeare plays, to be screened this autumn.

A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Taming of the Shrew, Macbeth and Much Ado About Nothing are the four which will be given a modern makeover.

A number of well-known actors, including Keeley Hawes, Shirley Henderson and Rufus Sewell have signed up to star in them.

The dramas will be part of a season of programmes about the bard.

Holiday Park

The new versions will see The Taming Of The Shrew set in the world of politics and A Midsummer Night's Dream being played out in a holiday park.

Macbeth will be transferred to a restaurant kitchen, while Much Ado About Nothing will focus on two rival news readers.

"There have been modern versions of Shakespeare before but these new interpretations remain true to the originals," said Laura Mackie, BBC Head of drama series and serials.

"At the same time, they are unashamedly a very personal take by each writer - our aspiration is that they work on their own terms for a modern audience."

The Shakespeare adaptations follow on from the modern-day adaptations of Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, which were screened on BBC One in 2003.