"Disgusted and bored by the trend for titillation and sham on the London stage, Shaw wrote these plays both to educate and entertain his audiences. In The Devil's Disciple, a clergyman turned soldier and the Shavian ideal of a Puritan hero - 'like all genuinely religious men, a reprobate and an outcast' - willingly risks his life for a stranger. Caesar and Cleopatra, a brilliant satire on contemporary Britain, contains an utterly unexpected portrait...

A studio performance of one of Handel's best known operas by the English National Opera. The Opera, a tale of love and power based on Shakespeare's play, was first performed in 1724 at the Haymarket Theatre in London using castrati singers in the heroes roles. This production follows modern practice in using women in these parts, and in particular, Dame Janet Baker creates the virtuoso role of Julius Caesar.