'Pericles, Prince of Tyre' is one of Shakespeare's last plays and also one of his least famous, more with it to do in my mind that it is problematic to stage. Although the play is nowhere near top-tier Shakespeare, with a story that can be sprawling and over-plotted and the second half is better than the first, do feel personally that it is deserving of a better reputation. It does have a lot of interesting elements and characters and their relationships, and the text and themes are distinctive Shakespeare.
Found this production of 'Pericles, Prince of Tyre' to be very, very good. For me it is among the better productions of the inconsistent (some productions being better than others) but absolutely fascinating BBC Television Shakespeare series, because some of the elements are given some of the best execution of them here of the series. Have found it interesting that in the BBC Television Shakespeare series the productions for some of the lesser known plays are actually better than the productions of some of Shakespeare's most famous plays. Am being serious when saying this. It more than makes do as the to date only production available on DVD.
There is more that is done right than is done wrong in this production, though it takes a little time to get going which is partly down to the play itself.
Visually, 'Pericles, Prince of Tyre' is one of the best-looking of the BBC Television Shakespeare series. Budget limitations did tend to show in the series, even in a few of the best productions, so they looked a bit dreary (very in the case of particularly 'The Tempest' and 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'). The production values may not be quite as interesting as those of a few of the Elijah Moshinsky-directed productions, but they do look absolutely beautiful still, there is a sense of time and place and clearly a lot of effort went into them. Especially the sets and lighting. Loved the music score too, which is up there as among the series' best. It fits the setting and adds a lot and never distracts. It is also a lovely score in its own right.
Shakespeare's text cannot be faulted as usual, while the production does a great job overcoming the play's staging problems like the bigger set pieces (not making them cheap or static) and making the time gap cohesive and believable. Also doing well in giving the story momentum, not easy for a story as sprawling as the one 'Pericles, Prince of Tyre' has, and cohesion, did find myself understanding what was going on which must not have been easy but was done well. The character relationships brought out the right amount of tension and emotional impact and the recognition scene is touching. This is very thoughtful and moving staging in my view.
Also thought highly of the cast. Edward Petherbridge occasionally overdoes it as Gower, but mostly he was fine and did well moving the story forward. Mike Gwilym is a haunted but also very human Pericles, while Juliet Stevenson brings subtle dignity to Thaisa and Amanda Redman radiates in charm as Marina. Annette Crosbie is memorably fiendish in a small role. Everybody does well here.
Concluding, very, very good with a lot of great things. One of the best of the series. 9/10