British Universities Film & Video Council

moving image and sound, knowledge and access

King Lear

Synopsis
Richard Eyre’s film version of his 1997 National Theatre production of King Lear, with Ian Holm as Lear.
Series
Performance
Language
English
Country
Great Britain
Medium
Television
Technical information
Colour / Sound
Transmission details
21 Mar 1998 at 21:02 (Channel: BBC2)
Duration
140 mins

Credits

Director
Richard Eyre
Producer
Joy Spink; Sue Birtwistle
Writer
William Shakespeare
Cast
Ian HolmLear
Victoria HamiltonCordelia
Timothy WestEarl of Gloucester
Michael BryantFool
Paul RhysEdgar, later disguised as Tom o’Bedlam
Amanda RedmanRegan
Barbara FlynnGoneril
David BurkeEarl of Kent
Finbar LynchDuke of Albany
Michael SimkinsDuke of Cornwall
William OsborneOswald

Additional Details

Theatre
Cottesloe Theatre, National Theatre, London
Theatre company
National Theatre Company
Production type
Television and Radio Drama
Plays
King Lear
Subjects
Drama
Keywords
Shakespeare, William (1564-1616); Traverse stage
Related items
Nothing Will Come of Nothing

Notes

Notes
The production was recorded at the Cottesloe Theatre on a single, fixed camera on 26 April 1997 and may be viewed by appointment at the National Theatre Archive. This recording is catalogued separately.
General
Bob Crowley’s set played on a long, narrow traverse stage with the audience ranged close to the acting space at either side.
History
The performance played at the Cottesloe 27 March-12 April and then on tour. Shown in the US on WGBH 21 March 1988 and as part of PBS’s Mobil Masterpiece Theatre series 11 October 1998.
Figures
Viewing audience of 591 000 (consolidated viewing)
3% share of the viewing audience of BBC2 for that day
(Figures provided by BARB, the Broadcasters Audience Research Board, 1998)

Shown in the US on WGBH 21 March 1988 and as part of PBS’s Mobil Masterpiece Theatre series 11 October 1998.
Awards
Ian Holm won an Olivier Award for Best Actor for his performance as Lear, and Richard Eyre won Best Director.
Reviews
Coursen, H.R. Shakespeare in Space: Recent Shakespeare Productions on Screen (New York: Peter Lang, 2002), pp. 54-57.

Production Company

Name

BBC

Notes
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
Name

Chestermead Productions

Name

WGBH Boston

Archive

Name

BFI National Archive

Web
http://www.bfi.org.uk/archive-collections/searching-access-collections/research-viewing-services External site opens in new window
Phone
020 7255 1444
Fax
020 7436 0165
Address
21 Stephen Street
London
W1T 1LN

Distributor

Name

Metrodome Distribution

Notes
Specialist distributor of quality, independent films, both theatrically and subsequently on DVD. DVD releases include new films, classic cinema, documentaries, animation, stage adaptations, television programming and historical drama. NB. Metrodome Distribution went into administration in 2016

Online Retailer

Name

amazon.co.uk

Web
http://www.amazon.co.uk External site opens in new window

Record Stats

This record has been viewed 1259 times.