Jacobi uncovers Shakespeare

The die is cast early on in Shakespeare Uncovered: Richard II with Derek Jacobi. Although Richard II is set in the distant past, we’re told, this play that tells of the sad stories of the death of kings is hugely relevant to the present.

In the opening moments of Friday’s first-of-two-parts look at Shakespeare’s most influential plays, Sir Derek Jacobi embarks on a pilgrimage to Westminster Abbey and reads the inscription on King Richard II’s tomb, including the part where it says, “He laid low anyone who violated the royal prerogative.”

In a rousing news conference with TV critics last month, Irons — the host and narrator of Friday’s second program, Shakespeare Uncovered: Henry IV & Henry V with Jeremy Irons — railed against how badly Shakespeare is taught in school, where as often as not it’s shoved down pupils’ throats like so much peas and broccoli, inculcating a lifelong hatred of the greatest playwright in the history of the English language.

Irons, too, brings a lively wit and energy to his treatise on Henry IV, Parts I and II and Henry V. If you were one of those unfortunates who learned to hate Shakespeare in school, do give Shakespeare Uncovered a second chance. You may be pleasantly surprised. (2 a.m. WPBS)

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