Go Behind the Scenes of Shakespeare Series ‘The Hollow Crown’
The four plays that comprise The Hollow Crown – Richard II; Henry IV, Part One; Henry IV, Part Two and Henry V – bring several of Shakespeare’s most acclaimed histories to life as a single chronological narrative, and explore the ideas behind kingship, including what it means to be a king, a subject, and a man. Starring a tremendously large group of epic British actors of all stripes, the entire thing is just a collection of really, fantastically well done Shakespeare, and absolutely worth your time for a few Fridays this Fall.
Luckily, Great Performances continues to feed our addiction to all things Hollow Crown-related by releasing a special behind-the-scenes mini-documentary about the production, entitled Shakespeare and the Divine Right of Kings. This twenty minute feature boasts exclusive interviews with the directors behind the films, as well as many of the gifted actors involved, including Ben Whishaw, Jeremy Irons, Tom Hiddleston, Rory Kinnear, Julie Walters and more.
The clip gives you a lot of great insight into the history of the period in which the plays are set, the decisions the production team made in putting them together, and the choices many of the actors made in their roles. It’s fascinating! Watch for yourself below:
The fact that the first scene Hiddleston filmed in the whole series was the St. Crispin’s Day speech in Henry V is just fascinating, right?
How are you enjoying The Hollow Crown?