Welcome back to the home of the oxymoron. Evil genius. He asked the newspaper to print his obituary early so he'd enjoy it. That's like hiding at your own funeral. Yeah, it's a big, great gig. I'm Russell Kane. Join me to weigh in on whether the biggest players in history are more evil or genius. Becoming that rich, I'd say that is some level of genius. It also helps

that it's a long time ago, right? It's like the podcast version of telling your kids the ice cream

van plays music when it's out of ice cream. Listen to evil genius on BBC Sounds.

When I do count the clock that tells the time and see the brave day sunk in hideous night,

when I behold the clock can's ceaseless climb and mark the studio manager's green light,

when critic's scholars hover o'er the bays of this old table here in 50A,

much marked with coffee stains, or, to rephrase, forming a palimpsest of radio days,

then of this programme I do question make, astounded that so brief a time may hold

analysis of Heathcliff and a take on rouse in Cape Town over Cecil Rhodes,

and ending with, because I know what sells, with talk of Shakespeare, led by Stanley Wells.

Your enemies with nodding of their plumes,

fan you into despair.

Have the powers till,

to banish your defenders,

till at length your ignorance,

which finds not till it feels, making that reservation

of yourselves.

An archive recording of Lawrence Olivier's Coriolanus from Peter Hall's 1959 production.

Somewhere in Act 4 of this programme will be asking, what makes an actor a Shakespearean

actor, with Professor Wells supplying

the answers. And if you couldn't tell from the previous announcement, you'll also hear about

an outbreak of Rhodes' rage in South Africa, and will wander over Wuthering Heights with the novelist

...