BBC Television Shakespeare - Omissions and Changes

Omissions and Changes

With the exception of Titus Andronicus and Pericles, Prince of Tyre, all of the productions were based on the texts of the First Folio (1623), however, numerous changes were made throughout the series.

• Richard II
  • The trial/multiple challenges portion of Act IV is omitted.
  • All mention of Henry IV's son, later Henry V, is omitted.

• Henry IV, Part 2
  • The Epilogue is omitted.
  • Much other material, especially involving Falstaff, is cut.

• Twelfth Night
  • Act 2, Scene 2 follows immediately after Act 1, Scene 5.

• The Taming of the Shrew
  • The Induction and the interjection of Christopher Sly at the end of Act 1, Scene 1 are absent.
  • Several lines are omitted from the conversation between Grumio and Curtis in Act 4, Scene 1.
  • The brief conversation between Biondello and Lucentio which opens Act 5, Scene 1 is absent.
  • Act 5, Scene 2 ends differently to the play. The last line spoken is Petruchio's "We three are married, but you two are sped;" thus omitting Petruchio's comment to Lucentio "'Twas I won the wager, though you hit the white, And being a winner, God give you good night", as well as Hortensio's line, "Now go thy ways, thou has tamed a curst shrew", and Lucentio's closing statement, "'Tis a wonder, by your leave, she will be tamed so." Additionally, Petruchio and Katherina do not leave the banquet prior to the end of the play, but remain, and engage in a song with all present.

• Henry VI, Part 1
  • Lines are omitted from almost every scene. Some of the more notable omissions include, in Act 1, Scene 1, Bedford's references to children crying and England becoming a marsh since Henry V died; (ll.48-51). In Act 1, Scene 2, Alençon's praise of the resoluteness of the English army is absent (ll.29-34). In Act 1, Scene 5, Talbot's complaint about the French wanting to ransom him for a prisoner of less worth is absent (ll.8-11). In Act 1, Scene 7, some of Charles' praise of Joan is absent (ll.21-27). In Act 4, Scene 6, some of the dialogue between Talbot and John is absent (ll.6-25). In Act 4, Scene 7, twelve of Joan's sixteen lines are cut; the entire seven line speech where she says John Talbot refused to fight her because she is a woman (ll.37-43); the first three lines of her five line mockery of Lucy's listing of Talbot's titles (ll.72-75); and the first two lines of her four line speech where she mocks Lucy about to take over Talbot's position (ll.86-88).
  • The adaptation opens differently to the text, as we see Henry VI singing a lament for his father.
  • Fastolf's escape from Rouen is seen rather than merely mentioned.
  • Act 5, Scene 1 and Act 5, Scene 2 are reversed so that Act 4, Scene 7 and Act 5, Scene 2 now form one continuous piece.
  • The character of Warwick as portrayed by Mark Wing-Davey is Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick. In the play however, the character is Richard de Beauchamp, 13th Earl of Warwick, Neville's father-in-law.

• Henry VI, Part 2
  • Lines are omitted from almost every scene. Some of the more notable omissions include, in Act 1, Scene 1, both of Humphrey's references to Bedford are absent (ll. 82-83, 95-96), as is the reference to Suffolk's demands that he be paid for escorting Margaret from France (ll. 131-133), and York's allusion to Althaea and Calydon in his closing soliloquy (ll.231-235). York's outline of Edward III's seven sons is absent from Act 2, Scene 2 (ll.10-17), as is Salisbury's reference to Owen Glendower (l.41). Suffolk's accusation that Humphrey was involved in necromancy with Eleanor is omitted from Act 3, Scene 1 (ll.47-53), as is Humphrey's outline of how he dealt with criminals during his time as Lord Protector (ll.128-132). Also absent from 3.1 is York's reference to how he fought alongside Cade in Ireland (ll.360-370). In Act 4, Scene 1, all references to Walter Whitmore's name as Gualtier are absent. The entirety of Act 4, Scene 5 (a brief scene showing Lord Scales and Matthew Gough on patrol at the Tower of London) is absent. In Act 5, Scene 1, some of the dialogue between Clifford and Warwick is absent (ll.200-210).
  • Some lines have also been added to the play. In Act 1, Scene 1, two lines are added to Salisbury's vow to support York if he can prove he is a legitimate heir to the crown; "The reverence of mine age and the Neville's name/Is of no little force if I command" (between ll.197 and 198). In Act 1, Scene 3, two lines are added to the conversation between Margaret and Thump, where Thump mistakes the word 'usurper' for 'usurer' and is corrected by Margaret (between ll.31 and 32). In Act 2, Scene 1, the conversation between Humphrey and Beaufort is extended, wherein Humphrey says that Beaufort was born "in bastardy". All of these additional lines are taken from the 1594 quarto of the play, The First part of the Contention betwixt the two famous Houses of Yorke and Lancaster.
  • Several lines are spoken by characters other than who speak in the Folio text. In Act 1, Scene 3, Humphrey's line "This is the law and this Duke Humphrey's doom" is given to Henry. In Act 1, Scene 4, during the conjuration, there is no separate spirit in the scene; all the spirit's dialogue is spoken 'through' Magarey Jourdayne. Also, later in that scene, it is Buckingham who reads the prophecies, not York. In Act 4, Scene 1, the second half of line 139 ("Pompey the Great and Suffolk dies by pirates") is given to the Lieutenant.
  • The character of George Plantagenet is introduced towards the end of the play, just prior to the Battle of St Albans, with which the play closes. In the text however, George is not introduced until 3 Henry VI, Act 2, Scene 2.
  • The character of Buckingham is killed onscreen. In the play, his fate is unknown, and it is only revealed in the opening lines of 3 Henry VI that he had been killed by Edward.
  • The play ends slightly differently to how it is indicated in the text. After the battle, the victorious House of York leave the stage, all except Salisbury, who sadly looks around the field of battle at the many dead bodies.

• Henry VI, Part 3
  • Lines are omitted from almost every scene. Some of the more notable omissions include the opening twenty-four lines of the first scene. Instead the play begins with Warwick proclaiming, "This is the palace of the fearful king". Also in Act 1, Scene 1, all references to Margaret chairing a session of parliament are absent (ll.35-42), as are her references to the pains of child birth, and Henry's shameful behaviour in disinheriting his son (ll.221-226). Absent from Act 1, Scene 3 is Rutland's appeal to Clifford's paternal instincts (ll.41-43). In Act 2, Scene 1, all references to Clarence's entry into the conflict are absent, as he had already been introduced as a combatant at the end of 2 Henry VI. During the debate between the Yorkists and the Lancastrians in Act 2, Scene 2, Richard's "Northumberland, I hold thee reverentially" is absent (l.109). In Act 3, Scene 3, Warwick's reference to Salisbury's death and the incident with his niece are both absent (ll.186-188). In Act 4, Scene 4, the first twelve lines are absent (where Elizabeth reports to Rivers that Edward has been captured). In Act 5, Scene 6, Henry's references to Daedalus and Icarus are absent (ll.21-25).
  • Some lines are also added to the play. In Act 1, Scene 1, four lines are added at the beginning of Henry's declaration that he would rather see civil war than yield the throne; "Ah Plantagenet, why seekest thou to depose me?/Are we not both Plantagenets by birth?/And from two brothers lineally descent?/Suppose by right and equity thou be king...". Also in Act 1, Scene 1, a line is inserted when York asks Henry if he agrees to the truce and Henry replies "Convey the soldiers hence, and then I will." Most significant is in Act 5, Scene 1, where the incident involving Clarence's return to the Lancastrian side is completely different to the text found in the Folio, and is taken entirely from the octavo text of The True Tragedy of Richard Duke of York (1595).
  • Several lines are spoken by characters other than who speak in the Folio text, particularly in relation to Clarence. For example, in Act 2, Scene 1, it is Clarence who says Edward's "I wonder how our princely father scaped,/Or whether he be scaped away or no/From Clifford and Northumberland's pursuit". Clarence also speaks Richard's "Three glorious suns, each one a perfect sun,/Not separated with the racking clouds/But severed in a pale clear-shining sky"; Edward's "Sweet Duke of York, our prop to lean upon/Now thou art gone, we have no staff, no stay"; and Richard's "Great lord of Warwick, if we should recount/Our baleful news, and at each word's deliverance/Stab poniards in our flesh till all were told,/The words would add more anguish than the wounds".
  • The presentation of the character of Montague also differs from the Folio text. Montague is not present in Act 1, Scene 1, and as such, his lines are either spoken by Clarence or omitted. He is introduced in Act 1, Scene 2, but with some notable changes to the text; when York is giving his men instructions, his order to Montague, "Brother, thou shalt to London presently" (l.36) is changed to "Cousin, thou shalt to London presently", York's reiteration of the order "My brother Montague shall post to London" (l.54) is changed to "Hast you to London my cousin Montague", and Montague's "Brother, I go, I'll win them, fear it not" (l.60) is changed to "Cousin, I go, I'll win them, fear it not." Additionally, the report of the death of Warwick and Montague's brother Thomas Neville in Act 2, Scene 3 is different from the text; 'son' in line 15 is replaced with 'father', 'brother' in line 19 is replaced with 'son', and 'gentleman' in line 23 is replaced with 'Salisbury'.
  • The character of Elizabeth's son, the Marquess of Dorset, is introduced just after the marriage of Elizabeth and Edward (Act 4, Scene 1). In the text, Dorset doesn't appear until Richard III.

• Cymbeline
  • Acts 4 and 5 are heavily cut, and scenes and speeches are freely rearranged.

• Timon of Athens
  • Act 3, Scene 3 is heavily cut; the servant's monologue is totally omitted, though Lucilius appears in the background for the scene. Various smaller cuts.

• The Two Gentlemen of Verona
  • Act 1, Scene 1 begins with Mercatio and Eglamour attempting to formally woo Julia; Mercatio by showing her a coffer overflowing with gold coins, Eglamour by displaying a parchment detailing his family history (there is no dialogue in this scene).
  • The capture of Silvia and the flight of Eglamour is seen, as opposed to merely being described.
  • Eglamour is also present at the end of Act 5, Scene 4 (once again without any dialogue).

• Titus Andronicus
  • Some minor lines are omitted from various scenes, such as Lavinia's "Ay, for these slips have made him noted long" (2.3.87), Titus' "Ah, wherefore dost thou urge the name of hands,/To bid Aeneas tell the tale twice o’er,/How Troy was burnt and he made miserable?" (3.2.26-28), Marcus' "What, what! The lustful sons of Tamora/Performers of this heinous, bloody deed" (4.1.78-79), and Titus and Marcus' brief conversation about Taurus and Aries (4.3.68-75).
  • Several lines from the Q1 text which were removed in subsequent editions are used; at 1.1.35 Titus' "bearing his valiant sons/in coffins from the field" continues with "and at this day,/To the Monument of that Andronicy/Done sacrifice of expiation,/And slaine the Noblest prisoner of the Gothes." These lines work in tandem with a rearrangement of the opening scenes to avoid a continuity problem. The lines concern the sacrifice of Alarbus, which hasn't happened yet in the text. However, Howell got around this problem by beginning the play at 1.1.64 – the entrance of Titus. Then, at 1.1.168, after the sacrifice of Alarbus, lines 1.1.1 to 1.1.63 (the introductions of Bassianus and Saturninus) take place, thus Titus' reference to Alarbus' sacrifice makes chronological sense.
  • The character of Young Lucius is a much more important figure in the adaptation than in the play; he is present throughout Act 1, he retrieves the murder weapon after the death of Mutius; it is his knife which Titus uses to kill the fly; he aids in the capture of Chiron and Demetrius; he is present throughout the final scene.
  • Also changed is the fate of Aaron's baby, who is seen dead in a coffin in the final scene. In the play, and most productions, it is implied that the child lives.