Written by William Shakespeare Country of origin United Kingdom Producer(s) Paul Wheeler | Directed by Trevor Nunn Original language(s) English | |
Starring Ian McKellen
Romola Garai
Frances Barber
Jonathan Hyde
Sylvester McCoy | ||
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 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.
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 there was only a partial nudity.