King Lear

Synopsis: A video recording, using a single camera, of Richard Eyre’s 1997 production of King Lear with Ian Holm in the title role.
Language: English
Country: Great Britain
Medium: Video
Technical information: Colour / Sound
Recording date: 26 Apr 1997
Duration: 210 (incl. 15min interval)

Notes: The production was re-staged for television and broadcast on BBC2 21 March 1998. 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. The television production was 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.

Anne-Marie Duff	Cordelia
Michael Bryant	Fool
Paul Rhys	Edgar, later disguised as Tom o’Bedlam
Adrian Irvine	King of France
Daniel Coonan	Messenger to Albany (Messenger)
David Burke	Earl of Kent
Finbar Lynch	Duke of Albany
Harry Jones	Old Man
Martin Chamberlain	Gentleman
Michael Simkins	Duke of Cornwall
Nicholas Bailey	Duke of Burgundy
Paul Benzing	Servant of Cornwall
William Osborne	Oswald

British Universities Film & Video Council