Spectacular Film Adaptations of Shakespeare Plays On PBS Great Performances

          By: Ellis Nassour

Chronicling a bloody tale of family, politics, and power, PBS Great Performances’ The Hollow Crown [Neal Street Productions, NBCUniversal Internatinonal] is a lavish series of filmed adaptations of four of Shakespeare’s most gripping history plays: Richard II, Henry IV, Parts I and II and Henry V. They tell of the rise and fall of three Kings and how their destiny shaped English history. THIRTEEN will air the programs September 20 (9 P.M.) through October 11. The kings are portrayed, respectively by Ben Whishaw, Jeremy Irons, and Tom Hiddleston. Appearing in major featured roles are Simon Russell Beale, Michelle Dockery, John Hurt, Rory Kinnear, James Purefoy, Patrick Stewart, and Julie Waters.

Series overview: Richard II (Whishaw) is a vain, self-indulgent man who rules with little regard for his people’s welfare. He’s ultimately overthrown by his cousin Bolingbroke (Kinnear), who ascends the throne as Henry IV (Irons). Henry IV’s reign is marred by his own guilt over Richard’s death, civil war, and the growing fear that his son Hal (Hiddleston) is a wastrel unworthy of the throne. When Hal comes to the throne as Henry V, he’s left to bury the ghosts of his father’s past while fighting both the French forces as well as his own demons.