In case you missed the hour-long PBS program on Richard II — part of the six-episode series “Shakespeare Uncovered” — it’s well worth watching. Click on the link below to watch.
Most of the episode, hosted by Sir Derek Jacobi, offers viewers an insightful discussion about Shakespeare’s play Richard II and the life of the actual historical figure.
But then around the midway point, just before the 30-minute mark, Sir Derek takes something of a detour into the Shakespeare Authorship mystery and declares he’s an Oxfordian! He even pays an on-camera visit to Castle Hedingham.
Derek is well aware that he’s stepping into a minefield. “Castle Hedingham near London,” Jacobi explains, “is the ancestral home of the de Vere family. In the course of his reign, Richard proved a very contentious King. He set many cats among many pigeons. And my presence here at Castle Hedingham may, like Richard, set the fur flying.”
Indeed!
Sir Derek then goes on to state, clearly and boldly: “I believe Edward de Vere and not William Shakespeare [of Stratford] wrote Richard II and, in fact, all the plays attributed to the man from Stratford.”
Here’s the link. This makes for very interesting viewing.
