The Cleopatras
| The Cleopatras | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Historical Drama |
| Written by | Philip Mackie |
| Directed by | John Frankau |
| Starring | Michelle Newell Graham Crowden Richard Griffiths Robert Hardy Elizabeth Shepherd |
| Theme music composer | Nick Bicât |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| No. of episodes | 8 |
| Production | |
| Producer | Guy Slater |
| Running time | 50 min |
| Production company | BBC |
| Original release | |
| Network | BBC2 |
| Release | 19 January – 9 March 1983 |
| Infobox instructions (only shown in preview) | |
The Cleopatras is a 1983 BBC Television eight-part historical drama serial. Written by Philip Mackie, it is set in Ancient Egypt during the latter part of the Ptolemaic Dynasty with an emphasis on the Cleopatras. Intended to be the I, Claudius of the 1980s, The Cleopatras met with a decidedly mixed critical reaction, and was regarded and portrayed as a gaudy farce. It also produced a number of complaints due to scenes of nudity.
The title and incidental music was written and composed by Nick Bicât. In January 1983 a 7" vinyl was released to tie in with the original broadcast.
Although the show has never been rebroadcast or released on DVD, clips were featured in a 2015 BBC documentary about how Cleopatra VII has been depicted and presented in film and on television.