The Hollow Crown 

A miniseries of adaptations of Shakespeare's history plays: Richard II, Henry IV Parts One and Two, and Henry V.

Stars:

Anton Lesser, Simon Russell Beale, Tom Georgeson

7 wins & 17 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Anton Lesser	...	Exeter 4 episodes, 2012-2016
Simon Russell Beale	...	Falstaff 3 episodes, 2012
Tom Georgeson	...	Bardolph 3 episodes, 2012
John Mackay	...	Brakenbury 3 episodes, 2016
Tom Hiddleston	...	Prince Hal / ... 3 episodes, 2012
Sophie Okonedo	...	Margaret 3 episodes, 2016
James Laurenson	...	Westmoreland 3 episodes, 2012
Tom Sturridge	...	Henry VI 3 episodes, 2016
Julie Walters	...	Mistress Quickly 3 episodes, 2012
Alun Armstrong	...	Northumberland 2 episodes, 2012
Will Attenborough	...	Gloucester 2 episodes, 2012
Conrad Asquith	...	Bracy 2 episodes, 2012
Benedict Cumberbatch	...	Richard / ... 2 episodes, 2016
Ben Daniels	...	Buckingham 2 episodes, 2016
Alan David	...	Bishop of Ely 2 episodes, 2016
Adrian Dunbar	...	Plantagenet 2 episodes, 2016
Ian Conningham	...	Peto 2 episodes, 2012
James Fleet	...	Hastings 2 episodes, 2016
Phoebe Fox	...	Anne 2 episodes, 2016
David Dawson	...	Poins 2 episodes, 2012
Drew Dillon	...	Drawer 2 episodes, 2012
Michelle Dockery	...	Kate Percy 2 episodes, 2012
Barney Harris	...	Ned 2 episodes, 2016
Henry Faber	...	Lancaster 2 episodes, 2012
Keeley Hawes	...	Queen Elizabeth 2 episodes, 2016
Stuart McQuarrie	...	Vernon 2 episodes, 2016
John Heffernan	...	Francis 2 episodes, 2012
Ben Miles	...	Somerset 2 episodes, 2016
Matthew Needham	...	Basset 2 episodes, 2016
Jeremy Irons	...	Henry IV 2 episodes, 2012
Lucy Robinson	...	Young Cecily 2 episodes, 2016
Paul Ritter	...	Pistol 2 episodes, 2012
Stanley Townsend	...	Warwick 2 episodes, 2016
Maxine Peake	...	Doll Tearsheet 2 episodes, 2012
Jo Stone-Fewings	...	Stanley 2 episodes, 2016
Geoffrey Streatfeild	...	Edward IV 2 episodes, 2016
Dominic Rowan	...	Coleville 2 episodes, 2012
Jason Watkins	...	Suffolk 2 episodes, 2016
Matthew Tennyson	...	Clarence 2 episodes, 2012
Sam Troughton	...	George 2 episodes, 2016
Samuel Valentine	...	Grey 2 episodes, 2016
Al Weaver	...	Rivers 2 episodes, 2016
Jamie Ballard	...	Grieving Son / ... 2 episodes, 2016

Storyline

New adaptations of Shakespeare's tetralogy of history plays comprising the 'Henriad' for the BBC's 2012 Cultural Olympiad: King Richard II; King Henry IV, Part 1; King Henry IV, Part 2; King Henry V. The plays chronicle a continuous period in British history from the end of the 14th century to the aftermath of the Battle of Agincourt in 1415. Together, the plays comprise a story with recurring themes of power struggles, redemption, family conflict and betrayal.

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Plot Keywords:

15th century | english history | battle for throne | royalty | king | 

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Genres:

Drama | History

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Details

Official Sites:

BBC [UK]

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 September 2013 (USA)

Also Known As:

Den ihåliga kronan

Filming Locations:

Alnwick Castle, Alnwick, Northumberland, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Neal Street Productions,NBC Universal Television,WNET Thirteen

Technical Specs

Runtime:

150 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

16:9 HD

Did You Know?

Trivia

Henry VI, a Plantagenet commissioned schools for the underprivileged, but Cromwell closed some of them down, over rumors of degeneracy.

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Connections

Featured in Henry VI: Part I, Deleted Scenes (2016)

User Reviews

Good translation to screen

I saw the Michael Bogdanov directed versions of these plays at the Old Vic some time ago and loved them! But they didn't translate that experience onto the videos sold. This was a fine effort to film the unfilmable with Richard ii and Henry IV Part one coming out of the mix very well. The latter's opening pub scenes are incomprehensible to me and the Bogdanov version solved this by having Pistol burst in wearing a Buffalo Bill costume and firing off his pistols. By the time the audience had recovered from this, the rather difficult scene was over. Get past the opening hurdle and this play becomes one of Shakespeare's wittiest and wisest. This was an excellent production.I was less enamoured of Part two but mainly because it has weaker material in it (the army recruitment scene was tedious.) However this was forgotten when in the second half of the play, Jeremy Irons gave a towering performance as Bolingbroke. Tom Hiddleston was great as Hal/Henry V and you could chart his progress from tearaway youth to hero soldier with fascinated admiration. Surely he is wasted in Marvel films, good as he is in them. Having seen Jeremy's performance as Richard ii in Stratford ,it was brilliant to see him play the man who caused the downfall of that king (Richard II). And all from the comfort of my armchair! Great casting of Ben Wishaw and Rory Kinnear as modern incarnations of Richard/ Bolingbroke in this feud. The BBC have acquitted themselves well.I only wish there was a series 2 featuring the Henry 6th trilogy and Richard iii that completes this cycle of plays .Steve Qualtrough