King Lear (2008 film)

*King Lear*
King Lear
Written by	William Shakespeare
Directed by	Trevor Nunn
Starring	Ian McKellen; Romola Garai; Frances Barber; Jonathan Hyde; Sylvester McCoy
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
Production
Producer	Paul Wheeler
Cinematography	Paul Wheeler
Running time	181 minutes
Distributor	Channel 4; Thirteen/WNET
Release
Original release	26 December 2008

King Lear is a 2008 television film based on the William Shakespeare play of the same name, directed by Trevor Nunn. It was broadcast on More4 in the UK on Christmas Day, and shown on PBS' Great Performances in the United States in March 2009. The production was filmed mainly at Pinewood Studios in England.

It features the same cast and director as the 2007 RSC production, and started filming only a few days after the final performance at the New London Theatre, at Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire. The film was released on DVD in the UK^[1] and then in the US on 21 April 2009. It was shown on Channel 4 on 26 December 2008, as well as being broadcast on PBS in 2009 and a number of other TV stations internationally, including NHK Japan.^[2]

Cast and crew[]

Cast[]

Ian McKellen – King Lear
Romola Garai – Cordelia
William Gaunt – Earl of Gloucester
Jonathan Hyde – Earl of Kent
Philip Winchester – Edmund
Sylvester McCoy – The Fool

Frances Barber – Goneril
Monica Dolan – Regan
David Weston – A Gentleman
Guy Williams – Duke of Cornwall
Seymour Matthews – Curan
John Heffernan – Oswald

Ben Meyjes – Edgar
Julian Harries – Duke of Albany
Naomi Capron – Maid
Kieran Bew – Soldier
Peter Hinton- Duke of Burgundy
Ben Addis – King of France

Crew[]

Director – Trevor Nunn
Producer – Richard Price

Line Producer – Andy Picheta
Cinematographer – Paul Wheeler

Production history[]

King Lear started filming only a few days after the final stage performance on 12 January 2008. Filming at Pinewood Studios lasted for around a month.

Whilst McKellen appeared fully nude in the original production, PBS would not allow this on screen, so he appeared only partially nude in the televised production.^[3]

References[]

^ "King Lear". 6 October 2008 – via Amazon.
^ ""Great Performances" King Lear (TV Episode 2008)".
^ King, Susan (25 March 2009). "Ian McKellen and the evolution of his 'Lear'" – via LA Times.

External links[]

[1] "King Lear". 6 October 2008 – via Amazon.

[2] ""Great Performances" King Lear (TV Episode 2008)".

[3] King, Susan (25 March 2009). "Ian McKellen and the evolution of his 'Lear'" – via LA Times.

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