Suggested viewing: PBS’s Shakespeare Uncovered – King Lear

As we begin to wrap-up basic plot stuff for King Lear, and begin to take the deeper dive, here’s a great hour-long discussion of the play…

PBS has been running a show called Shakespeare Uncovered, taking (usually) a play (but sometimes a genre–like the cross-dressing comedies) and delving into its history, sources, plot and intricacies, all shot through the perspective of a well-known actor or director who has (or is) tackling that particular play:

  • Series I
    • Macbeth with Ethan Hawke
    • The Comedies with Joely Richardson
    • Richard II with Derek Jacobi
    • Henry IV & V with Jeremy Irons
    • Hamlet with David Tennant
    • The Tempest with Trevor Nunn
  • Series II
    • A Midsummer Night’s Dream with Hugh Bonneville
    • King Lear with Christopher Plummer
    • The Taming of the Shrew with Morgan Freeman
    • Othello with David Harewood
    • Antony and Cleopatra with Kim Cattrall
    • Romeo and Juliet with Joseph Fiennes

Really good stuff. Highly recommended (save for the Ethan Hawke Macbeth piece… he comes off as kinda clueless, and it doesn’t serve that play well).

As you can tell from the list above, there’s a Lear-centric piece, hosted by Christopher Plummer. And it’s excellent (and almost wipes clean any memories of The Sound of Music from my head!).

Shakespeare Uncovered: King Lear with Christopher Plummer (PBS)
Shakespeare Uncovered: King Lear with Christopher Plummer (PBS)

Check it out!

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