PBS "Shakespeare Uncovered"

Getting teens to care about Shakespeare can feel impossible when the language feels distant and confusing. Shakespeare Uncovered pairs actors and scholars to unpack individual plays, mixing performance clips with interviews that translate themes into modern terms. Produced by PBS and theater professionals, the series was designed to make the plays’ history, staging, and emotional stakes feel vivid. We love using each episode as a “trailer plus mini‑lecture” before or during reading a play. It’s ideal for middle and high schoolers tackling works like Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, or Twelfth Night who benefit from seeing scenes performed. Not every play has an episode, and streaming availability can shift, but when you can find it, it’s a gem. Pro tip: watch the relevant episode first, then have your teen choose a scene to reread or perform, guided by what they noticed about staging and character.