How do we enter the heightened, extravagant language of Shakespeare and yet feel truthful in our contemporary world? How do performers excite the audience with Shakespeare's rich imagery and dynamic rhythm, yet make it real for the twenty-first century? We assume that a sophisticated intellectual background is required to grapple with Shakespeare. But there is a much deeper, almost primal response as available to inner-city students as to their counterparts in the private school to the sound and rhythm in Shakespeare's language which arouses our emotions: feelings of anger and sorrow, of passion and laughter. This landmark five-part video series gives voice to Shakespeare's most beloved and widely known speeches and sonnets, performed by a powerhouse ensemble of American and British actors, as they delve into the structure, meaning and power of Shakespeare's language.
Kate Burton
as
Claire Danes
as
Blythe Danner
as
Lindsay Duncan
as
Victor Garber
as
Samuel L. Jackson
as
Helen Hunt
as
Robert Sean Leonard
as
Toby Stephens
as
Cherry Jones
as
George Anton
as
Duncan Bell
as
Episode 1
Episode 2
Episode 3
Episode 4
Episode 5
