King Lear

Alternative title
The Shakespeare Plays
Synopsis
Television production shot entirely in a studio with Michael Hordern in the title role.
Series
BBC Television Shakespeare
Language
English
Country
Great Britain; United States
Medium
Television
Technical information
Colour / Sound
Recording date
26 Mar 1982
Transmission details
19 Sep 1982 at 19:15 (Channel: BBC2)
Duration
190 mins

Credits

Director
Jonathan Miller
Producer
Shaun Sutton
Writer
William Shakespeare
Costume
Raymond Hughes
Art Direction
Colin Lowrey
Contributor
David Snodin
Cast
Michael HordernLear
Brenda BlethynCordelia
Norman RodwayEarl of Gloucester
Frank MiddlemasFool
Anton LesserEdgar, later disguised as Tom o’Bedlam
Adam KurakinHerald
David WestonDuke of Burgundy
Fraser WilsonGentleman
George HoweDoctor
Gillian BargeGoneril
Harry WatersKing of France
Iain ArmstrongGentleman
John BirdDuke of Albany
John DallimoreGentleman
John GrilloOswald
John ShrapnelEarl of Kent
Julian CurryDuke of Cornwall
Ken StottCuran
Michael KitchenEdmund
Penelope WiltonRegan
Peter WalmsleyServant
Richard AlbrechtOfficer
Stuart BlakeServant
Tim BrownCaptain
Tony SympsonServant

Additional Details

Production type
Television and Radio Drama
Historical period
Elizabethan
Plays
King Lear
Subjects
Drama
Keywords
drama in English; performances; Shakespeare, William (1564-1616)
Related items
King Lear
King Lear

Notes

Notes
The production is commercially available on DVD as part of the BBC TV SHAKESPEARE COLLECTION box set (see separate entry). The VHS version was deleted in March 2004 and was replaced from June 2004 by the DVD version.
History
The production is part of the fifth season (produced by: Jonathan Miller, Shaun Sutton). Recording took eight days.
Textual information
Between 1978 and 1986 the BBC published individual scripts of the series. Each volume of The BBC TV Shakespeare, ed. Peter Alexander et al. (London: British Broadcasting Corporation) contains the full text of the play (the Peter Alexander edition) with accompanying notes on the scene breaks and cuts made in the production, as well as a glossary. A general introduction to the play by series literary advisor John Wilders is followed by an essay on the production of the play by Henry Fenwick. This is based on interviews with actors, directors, and designers.
Reviews
Susan Willis, The BBC Shakespeare Plays: Making the Televised Canon (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1991).

Production Company

Name

BBC

Notes
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
Name

Time-Life Films Inc

Phone
0101 201 843 4545
Address
PO Box 644
NJ 07652
USA

Distributor

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.

How to cite this record

Shakespeare, "King Lear". https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/shakespeare/search/index.php/title/11842 (Accessed 06 Oct 2024)