Shakespeare Fans discussion

PBS is showing a series examining different Shakespeare plays and how they have been played. Right now I 'm watching Derek Jacobi talk about Richard II. Next hour they have Jeremy Irons talking about Henry IV & Henry V. Looks to be pretty interesting so far.

Haven't caught the Jacobi episode yet but I'm really enjoying this series. Especially for the variety of actors they show playing the parts - some of the older productions I'd never seen.

Website for the series:
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/shakespeare-u...

Episode about the comedies that I particularly liked:
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/shakespeare-u...

OMG I don't know how I missed this on tv. I am so relieved that the web link above seems to have all the episodes!!!

This is so damn exciting to me. It's like when my box set of "Playing Shakespeare" arrived in the mail!

I was very impressed with it overall. I know it had already debuted on the BBC but I wasn't sure if it would come stateside.

Wow...I just watched the Ethan hawke episode....incredible fun! I really loved the dancers who were performing as the married macbeths. I also was fascinated on the commentary regarding the plays exploration of marriage.

I can not wait to watch the rest of the series.

This series convinced me to check out the "Henriad" (Richard II, Henry IV, and Henry V) I was very surprised at how good it was but than again this was my first time really diving into the history plays.

I caught a couple of minutes of this series and had to turn off in disgust. It might be sound on the interpretation of the plays, but it's woeful on Shakespeare's biography. Joely Richardson definitively declared that Shakespeare had 'tried to run his father's glover's shop' - there is no evidence for any such thing. As his father was alive and well at the time, the most we can say is that Shakespeare MAY have helped him as most sons would have in a tradesman's family. Germaine Greer discussed his early marriage to Anne Hathaway and piously declared that while this may have been a problem for an ordinary young man, it would be different in this case because 'He was Shakespeare'. One would think Shakespeare wondered around Stratford wearing a halo and performing miracles!

I just finished the episode you describe Pauline....and perhaps there was some licence with biography. But overall I thought the same kind of interpretation and free licence was perfect for observing the plays and the characters. I was moved to tears several times during the visits filmed between Vanessa Redgrave and her daughter Joely Richardson...as they share how grateful they have been for such amazing female characters. The reminiscences of Vanessa Redgrave actually becoming a star due to playing Rosalind on BBC in 1964 was fascinating to me.

A montage of the twins reuniting in several versions of plays was delightful. I found this episode to be so rich in history of performances.

I think as a record or perhaps introduction (if one can't go to the archives oneself) of performing Shakespeare these episodes are really top notch.