This production is a TV version of the triumphant Cottesloe stage adaptation of King Lear, starring Ian Holm. In that small space it was claustrophobic and on TV the effect is still felt, enhancing the problems Lear has with his wicked daughters, and pinpointing the emptiness facing Gloucester once he is thrown out, ill and injured, from his own house.
As Lear, Holm is very good indeed. A small man with a large presence, he does give the character the faded majesty it needs, and is therefore convincing. Amanda Redman and Barbara Flynn play the bad daughters (the ugly sisters, if you like), while Victoria Hamilton, a fine young actress who recently played Catherine in Suddenly Last Summer on stage, is Cordelia.
Five excellent actors round out the cast - Paul Rhys is a fine Edgar, robbed of his birthright by his conniving half-brother; Finbar Lynch joyfully plays the evil Edmund; Michael Bryant is memorable as the Fool, wiser than most people around him; David Burke is a loyal and trusty Kent; and, best of all, Timothy West is Gloucester. He'd play Lear a few years later but he's making the most of the second meatiest role here.
As Lear, Holm is very good indeed. A small man with a large presence, he does give the character the faded majesty it needs, and is therefore convincing. Amanda Redman and Barbara Flynn play the bad daughters (the ugly sisters, if you like), while Victoria Hamilton, a fine young actress who recently played Catherine in Suddenly Last Summer on stage, is Cordelia.
Five excellent actors round out the cast - Paul Rhys is a fine Edgar, robbed of his birthright by his conniving half-brother; Finbar Lynch joyfully plays the evil Edmund; Michael Bryant is memorable as the Fool, wiser than most people around him; David Burke is a loyal and trusty Kent; and, best of all, Timothy West is Gloucester. He'd play Lear a few years later but he's making the most of the second meatiest role here.