King Lear 11

Synopsis

Television sitcom about night security staff. A reprise of an idea taken from an earlier programme in the series TAKEAWAY, which alluded to Richard II, but here with many references to King Lear. Carter and Bell decide to eliminate Sarge. They first perform lunatic antics to convince him of his longevity and insanity, then organise a birthday party where they present him with a throne, crown and sceptre. Eric (a new recruit) and Sarges’s proposed successor, is fooled into giving him a Zimmer frame. Sarge rejects Eric with Lear’s words to Cordelia (I i), then renounces his authority. There are numerous quotations and references throughout.

Series

Nightingales

Language

English

Country

Great Britain

Medium

Television

Technical information

Colour / Sound

Transmission details

3 Feb 1993 at 22:30 (Channel: Channel Four)

Duration

35 mins

Credits

Director

Tony Dow

Producer

Rosie Bunting

Writer

Paul Makin

Cast

David Threlfall	Bell
Ian Sears	Eric
James Ellis	Sarge
Robert Lindsay	Carter

Additional Details

Production type

Sitcoms/Variety

Plays

King Lear

Subjects

Drama

Keywords

Shakespeare, William (1564-1616)

Notes

Notes

The entire series is available on DVD.

General

David Threlfall and Robert Lindsay had played Edgar and Edmund respectively in KING LEAR (Granada, 1983)

Production Company

Name

Alomo Productions

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