BBC Two drama THE DRESSER is in full production swing in London at the moment and now a new name has been added to the star-studded cast alongside Ian McKellen and Anthony Hopkins – Emily Watson.
Richard Eyre is directing the adaptation of Ronald Harwood’s classic portrait of theatre life backstage. The two-hour TV movie has also added further names to its impressive casting ensemble with Emily Watson, Sarah Lancashire and Edward Fox all onboard.
THE DRESSER tells the story of one fateful night in a small regional theatre during World War II as a troupe of touring actors stage a production of Shakespeare’s King Lear. Bombs are falling, sirens are wailing, the curtain is up in an hour, but the actor/manager “Sir” who is playing Lear is nowhere to be seen. His dresser “Norman” must scramble to keep the production alive — will Sir turn up in time and, if he does, will he be able to perform that night? The production is working off of Harwood’s original text and presents the play as it was written for the stage.
The producer Colin Callender is very excited about the project: “There is a long rich tradition of British television honouring the text of the great British play and presenting audiences with virtuoso renditions of them on the screen as the playwright originally wrote them. The single drama is an endangered species in both film and television and this production is a harking back to the great days of Play for Today and testament to the commitment of the BBC and Starz to bring quality drama to the screen. It is also testament to the enduring power of Ronald Harwood’s glorious writing that we have been able to bring together such a wonderful creative team from the worlds of film, television and the theatre.”
An airdate is to be set for later this year on BBC Two in the UK and Starz holds all U.S. multiplatform pay TV rights.
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