A Production For People Who Don’t Think They Like Shakespeare

So many people have had bad experiences with Shakespeare that it is difficult to get them to watch new productions.  I know this was the case with myself.  In my early experiences with Shakespear I found myself unable to understand what the actors were saying.  I might get half and between the frustration and the effort, the impact of the play was lost on me.

The English director Richard Eyre has filmed King Lear in modern dress with a stunning cast of the who’s who of the British theater and television.  In this trailer you will see that done well, the dialogue is accessible.

Here’s the cast:

Anthony Hopkins – Hannible Lector (Silence of the Lambs), The Remains of the Day

Emma Thompson – Sense and Sensibility, The Remains of the Day, Harry Potter movies

Emily Watson – Gosford Park, The Theory of Everything

Andrew Scott – Played Moriarty in the Sherlock Holmes series with Cumberbach as the sleuth on BBC

Tobias Menzies – Played roles of both modern husband and villain Frank and Jack Randall in Outlander.  Also Game of Thrones

Jim Broadbent – Game of Thrones, Harry Potter series (professor Slughorn),  The Iron Lady (Dennis Thatcher), one of England’s greatest actors

Jim Carter – The butler in Downton Abby along with about a thousand other great character roles

The movie is available on Amazon Prime.  Give it a go!