SHAKESPEARE

Synopsis

Shakespeare’s play (without the subplot but with an extra story teller) arranged as a sequence for broadcasting and produced by Peter Creswell. With Godfrey Tearle in the title role.

Language

English

Country

Great Britain

Medium

Radio

Transmission details

15 May 1938 at 17:50 (Channel: BBC National Programme)

Duration

120 mins

Availability

No copy extant

Credits

Producer

Peter Creswell

Writer

Peter Creswell

Cast

Godfrey Tearle	Lear
Barbara Palmer	Cordelia
Carleton Hobbs	Earl of Gloucester
Marius Goring	Fool
Andrew Laurence	The Story Teller
Baliol Holloway	Earl of Kent
George Woodbridge	Duke of Cornwall
Jack Allen	King of France
Leonard Thompson	Oswald
Marda Vanne	Goneril
Mary Hinton	Regan
Michael Bazalgette	Duke of Burgundy
Norman Wooland	Doctor
Robert Holmes	Duke of Albany

Additional Details

Production type

Television and Radio Drama

Plays

King Lear

Subjects

Drama

Keywords

Shakespeare, William (1564-1616)

Notes

Notes

A written transcript of the production is held at the Birmingham Central Library as part of their Shakespeare Collection.

Textual information

The sub-plot, and with it the characters of Edgar and Edmund, were cut in this production, a revolutionary measure that did not go down too well with the listeners. See Radio Times, 13 May 1938, p. 20.

Reviews

One listener complained about the "music-hall technique" of the production, pointing out that "tom-tommings, guffawings, and piano-tinkering were very uncalled for" in an adaptation of Shakespearean tragedy (Radio Times, 10 June 1938, p. 9).

Production Company

Name

BBC

Notes

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)