BBC FOUR: Cleopatra and Me

Press/Media: Expert comment

Description

Shakespeare scholar Dr Islam Issa grew up in Birmingham with his Egyptian-born parents. As a child he was taught Cleopatra was a great politician, who turned her capital, Alexandria, into a global seat of learning and made Egypt one of the most powerful countries on the planet. But as a teenager, he realised she had a very different reputation in Britain - either a tragic Shakespearian heroine or a seductress, portrayed by screen sirens like Elizabeth Taylor. 

In this programme, Dr Issa sets out to discover the story behind these two, very different, Cleopatras.

Period6 May 2019

Media contributions

1

Media contributions

  • TitleCleopatra and Me
    Media name/outletBBC Four
    Media typeTelevision
    Country/TerritoryUnited Kingdom
    Date6/05/19
    DescriptionShakespeare scholar Dr Islam Issa grew up in Birmingham with his Egyptian-born parents. As a child he was taught Cleopatra was a great politician, who turned her capital, Alexandria, into a global seat of learning and made Egypt one of the most powerful countries on the planet. But as a teenager, he realised she had a very different reputation in Britain - either a tragic Shakespearian heroine or a seductress, portrayed by screen sirens like Elizabeth Taylor.

    In this programme, Dr Issa sets out to discover the story behind these two, very different, Cleopatras.
    URLhttps://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m0004vy4/cleopatra-and-me-in-search-of-a-lost-queen
    PersonsJoyce Tyldesley, Bryan Sitch
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Keywords

  • Egyptology
  • Cleopatra