There was a new TV adaptation of King Lear on BBC2 this week, starring Anthony Hopkins, but I think they must have cut a lot out to get it to be under two hours long. The last version I watched, which was also made by the BBC back in 1982, was over three hours long. As a long cat, I naturally prefer the longer version.
The new one was set in modern times, which made it a bit different I suppose, but I have a suspicion that was mainly chosen so they did not have to spend money on lots of historical costumes and sets.
There were some good actors in it, including Anthony Hopkins as King Lear, Tobias Menzies as Cornwall, Jim Carter as Kent, and Jim Broadbent as Gloucester. It also had Christopher Eccleston in a relatively small role as Goneril's servant, and sadly Andrew Scott was being rubbish (as usual for him) in the important role of Edgar - I wonder if those two somehow ended up swapping the parts they were supposed to be playing?
Karl Johnson is not an actor I have seen in a lot of things, although he was Ariel in Derek Jarman's 1979 film version of The Tempest, but he was the best thing in this as the Fool.
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