Dresser, The

Synopsis

An adaptation for television of Ronald Harwood’s play, based on the touring career of Donald Wolfit, for whom Harwood was the dresser. The story relates the complex relationship between Sir, an ageing Shakespearean actor-manager on a provincial tour of England during World War II, and Norman, his gay dresser. Their difficult but mutually dependent (if unacknowledged) relationship resembles that of Lear and the Fool. The film focuses strongly on ‘Sir’s’ performance of King Lear where he comes to see the resemblance between himself and the tragic role he plays. There are also quotations from several other plays,

Language

English

Country

Great Britain

Medium

Television

Technical information

Colour / Sound

Transmission details

31 Oct 2015 at 21:00 (Channel: BBC2)

Duration

105 mins

Credits

Director

Richard Eyre

Writer

Ronald Harwood

Production Design

Suzan Harrison

Cast

Antony Hopkins	Sir (Lear)
John Ashton	Earl of Gloucester
Annalisa Rossi	Goneril
Carl Sanderson	Duke of Cornwall
Edward Fox	Thornton
Emily Watson	Her Ladyship
Helen Bradbury	Regan
Ian Cunningham	Earl of Kent
Ian McKellen	Norman
Martin Chamberlain	Gentleman
Matthew Cottle	Duke of Albany
Sarah Lancashire	Madge
Vanessa Kirby	Irene

Additional Details

Production type

Television and Radio Drama

Plays

King Lear

Subjects

Drama

Keywords

Shakespeare, William (1564-1616)

Production Company

Name

Playground UK

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

Name

Learning on Screen Off-Air Recording Back-up Service

Email

services@bufvc.ac.uk

Web

http://bufvc.ac.uk/tvandradio/offair External site opens in new window

Phone

020 7393 1514

Fax

020 7393 1555

Address

For Learning on Screen Members only
77 Wells Street
London
W1T 3QJ

Online Retailer

Name

BBC Store

Web

https://store.bbc.com/ External site opens in new window

Notes

NB. From May 2017 programmes are no longer available to buy on BBC Store. From November 1st 2017 the store will close completely and programmes bought from BBC Store will no longer be available to watch. Customers who have bought items from BBC Store will be contacted by email and refunded for their purchases either by full cash refund or Amazon video vouchers.