The fascinating history behind Shakespeare’s greatest plays continues with a third season of SHAKESPEARE UNCOVERED. The final season investigates “Much Ado About Nothing,” “The Merchant of Venice,” “Measure for Measure,” “Julius Caesar,” “The Winter’s Tale” and “Richard III.”
Shakespeare probably never met a Jewish person.
Three centuries before “The Merchant of Venice” was written, England became the first country in medieval Europe to expel its Jewish population.
Abraham addresses the ubiquitous anti-Semitism that characterized Europe in Shakespeare’s time. Comparing Shylock to the stock Jewish villain of the day, the episode looks at the efforts over the years to interpret him as both villain and victim.
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About The Series:
The ambitious series concludes with celebrated new hosts Helen Hunt, F. Murray Abraham, Romola Garai, Brian Cox, Simon Russell Beale and Sir Antony Sher, who seamlessly weave their personal passions with history, biography, iconic performances and new analysis to tell the stories behind the stories of Shakespeare’s famous works.
Each episode reveals the extraordinary world and works of William Shakespeare and the still-potent impact his plays have today.
The films combine interviews with actors, directors and scholars, along with visits to key locations, clips from some of the most celebrated film and television adaptations and illustrative excerpts from the plays staged specially for the series at Shakespeare’s Globe in London.
SHAKESPEARE UNCOVERED reveals not just the elements in the play, but the history of the play itself:
- What sparked the creation of each of these works?
- Where did Shakespeare find his plots and what new forms of theater did he forge?
- What cultural, political and religious factors influenced his writing?
- How have the plays been staged and interpreted from Shakespeare’s time to now?
- Why at different times has each play been popular — or ignored?
- Why has this body of work endured so thoroughly?
- What, in the end, makes Shakespeare unique?
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Credits:
Produced by Blakeway Productions, 116 Films and THIRTEEN Productions LLC for WNET in association with PBS and Shakespeare’s Globe. For Blakeway Productions, Richard Denton and Nicola Stockley are series producers. For THIRTEEN, Bill O’Donnell is series producer, with David Horn as executive producer. Stephen Segaller is executive in charge.
