Longest Run

By Gerald Clarke

THE SHAKESPEARE PLAYS PB5,8p.m.E.S.T. biweekly starting Feb. 14

One of the chief complaints of the Carnegie Commission is that public television is too dependent on British imports. Coincidentally, PBS is about to broadcast the longest and most ambitious British series of all, the 37 plays of William Shakespeare, spread out over six years. The series, the Carnegie Commission to the contrary, will be public TV's greatest monument, a fitting demonstration of what television can be, should be and, in Britain, often is.

The series begins with Julius Caesar, then continues with As You Like It, Romeo and Juliet, Richard II and Measure for Measure, ending April 25 with Henry VIII. The plays are being produced by the BBC with Time-Life Television, which is putting up more than 25% of the $14 million cost.

To keep the plays down to a maximum 2 3/4 hours, cuts have been made.

Judging from a viewing of the first four plays, however, editing has been judicious, more the neat excision of a few lines here and there than the slaughter of whole scenes, a violence often done to Shakespeare. With some notable exceptions, the performances range from competent to brilliant, and a whole stable of Britain's fine character actors trot through the familiar minor parts: John Gielgud as the righteous John of Gaunt, Celia Johnson as Juliet's nurse and Michael Hordern as her father.

The biggest surprise in the first four plays is Richard II, which is sometimes cited as one of Shakespeare's weaker works. Under the direction of David Giles, however, it takes on a new meaning, becoming an almost contemporary story of power used and abused. Derek Jacobi, who was seen last year as the hero in I, Claudius, portrays the childishness as well as the majesty of Richard, who tells "sad stories of the death of kings." No one has told them better, and Jacobi now should be numbered among the best actors in the English-speaking theater.

Another standout is Charles Gray, who plays the title role in Julius Caesar. Gray shows the fatuousness and vanity of the man, as well as his greatness. His Caesar could as easily be the chairman of some conglomerate as dictator of the Roman world. When the Ides of March finally arrive for him, Director Herbert Wise has the conspirators slowly circle around him, like snarling dogs around a tired stag. It is a shockingly intense scene and, as he is struck by Brutus, his favorite, Caesar clutches and almost kisses him, uttering a scarcely audible "Et tu, Brute?"

The weak actors look worse perhaps because everyone around them is so good. Producers often flirt with the notion of casting a young girl as Juliet, but they come to their senses in time. Producer Cedric Messina unwisely plunged ahead. His Juliet, Rebecca Saire, is 14 and acts it. Her voice is thin, and her range of expression sadly limited. Shakespeare said Juliet was only 14, but he gave her the lines of an ardent and mature woman to speak. A less serious error was the casting of Keith Michell as Caesar's Antony. Michell is an accomplished actor, but too old and fleshy to be a vigorous and virile Antony.

Still, it is hard to imagine that the plays could have been done better in the U.S. The complaints of American actors and producers that the British are taking over seem perversely petty. "Because they study Shakespeare at an early age and practice their craft, English actors are better suited to do Shakespeare," Messina argues. "Besides, the plays are there. There's no copyright. If the Americans want to do Shakespeare, then why don't they?" Good question. -- Gerald Clarke

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