Daily Archives: October 19, 2018

3 posts

Shakespeare Uncovered: Richard III with Antony Sher

Shakespeare’s Richard III is one of the most infamous villains of all time – and one of the most relished. This episode explains how Shakespeare created both a loathsome and brilliant manipulator, as well as a real man who speaks to every age. Shakespeare’s history plays are at least as much play as history. They hinge on character, on strength and on frailty, and what humans will resort to in order to achieve power. While historians still debate the merits and vices of King Richard, there is no evidence that he was the villain Tudor historians described; indeed, his reign of only two years brought some positive changes.

Airs on WXXI-TV October 26, 2018 at 10:00 pm
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View the trailer here.

Shakespeare Uncovered: The Winter’s Tale with Simon Russell Beale

A “winter’s tale” was Jacobean slang for something fanciful and unreal – a campfire story. Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale, written during the period 1613-14, is classified as one of his late romances. This is a play driven by passion and obsession, by the uncontrollable jealousy of King Leontes, who recklessly rejects his wife’s love and accuses her of an affair with his old friend. Acting like a man possessed, he orders his friend killed and his pregnant wife imprisoned. In 17th-century marriages, even royal ones, a wife believed guilty of adultery could indeed be brutally punished. The play’s second half, something of an idyllic comedy despite the stark and brutal first half of the play, returns the people Leontes thought he lost through one of the greatest theatrical coups of all time, a magic trick that uses no magic. Beale shows that in this play, Shakespeare offers something for which everyone longs: to reverse time, to make amends for an irreversible mistake.

Airs on WXXI-TV October 26, 2018 at 9:00 pm
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View the trailer here.

Compassion for Those We Love: A Town Meeting

More than 200,000 Spanish-speaking people in the United States suffer from Alzheimer’s disease and, according to the Alzheimer’s Association, that number could potentially increase to 1.3 million by 2050 – a growth rate of 600 percent. Alzheimer’s presents its own set of problems in the general population, but it seems to affect the Latino population at a higher rate. Latinos, studies suggest, possess more risk factors (diabetes, high blood pressure) for developing dementia than other groups and exhibit Alzheimer’s symptoms at an earlier age than non-Hispanics. In addition, surveys indicate Latinos’ reluctance to see doctors may result from financial and language barriers or because they mistake dementia symptoms for normal aging, thereby delaying the diagnosis. Taped in Spanish in front of an audience – and subtitled in English – COMPASSION FOR THOSE WE LOVE focuses on the human stories of the care giving crisis in a town hall-style format, hosted by Ms. Tsi-tsi-ki Felix, a Telemundo news anchor and reporter, and featuring a panel discussion and a question-and-answer session with experts. One of the Hispanic community’s strengths – the strong cultural value of family responsibility and the desire to care for elders and loved ones in the home – make the need for accurate information and access to care giving resources all the more critical. This educational program addresses these issues and others in a linguistically and culturally sensitive manner. Although geared specifically to the Hispanic community, much of the information presented is universal and applicable to most Alzheimer’s caregivers.

Airs on WXXI-TV October 25, 2018 at 4:00 am
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