King Lear

Synopsis: Shakespeare’s tragedy produced for radio by Wilfrid Grantham. This version is adapted from George Devine’s theatre production at the Stratford Memorial Theatre, with Michael Redgrave in the title role. With music composed by John Gardner and played by the Stratford Theatre Orchestra, conducted by Harold Ingram.
Language: English
Country: Great Britain
Medium: Radio
Recording date: 29 Dec 1953
Transmission details: 29 Dec 1953 at 19:55 (Channel: BBC Third Programme)
Duration: 185 (incl. interval)
Availability: No archive copy known

General: Rehearsals: 27/12/1953-28/12/1953
History: The press night for the stage performance at the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, was on 14/07/1953. The programme is broadcast in two parts with a 15-minute interval at 21:15.
Textual information: A written transcript of the production is held at the Birmingham Central Library as part of their Shakespeare Collection.
Reviews: "In these switches from defiance to dread, from pride to apprehensive anxiety, Mr. Redgrave raked the extremes of Lear’s tragedy" (T.C. Kemp, ‘I’ll Not Weep’, Radio Times, 25 December 1953, p. 21)

Shakespeare, "King Lear". https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/shakespeare/search/index.php/title/av67879 (Accessed 25 Nov 2024)

Michael Redgrave	Lear
Yvonne Mitchell	Cordelia
Noel Howlett	Earl of Gloucester
Leo McKern	Fool
Basil Hoskins	Edgar, later disguised as Tom o’Bedlam
Alan Townsend	Captain
Bernard Kay	Knight
Charles Gray	Officer
David King (2)	Duke of Burgundy
Donald Eccles	Old Man
George Hart	Officer
Harry Andrews	Earl of Kent
James Wellman	Servant
Jerome Willis	Curan
Joan Sanderson	Goneril
John Glendenning	Officer
Mervyn Blake	Servant
Michael Hayes	King of France
Michael Turner	Doctor
Michael Warre	Duke of Albany
Peter Duguid	Servant
Peter Johnson	Gentleman
Philip Morant	Knight
Rachel Kempson	Regan
Robert Shaw	Edmund
Thomas Powys	Duke of Cornwall
William Peacock	Oswald

SHAKESPEARE