The latest adaptation of William Shakespeare’s classic tragedy King Lear will be premiered on Monday. The BBC Two production, directed by Richard Eyre, stars Anthony Hopkins as the ill-fated monarch. The top-drawer cast includes Emma Thompson, Emily Watson, Jim Broadbent, Florence Pugh, Tobias Menzies, Jim Carter and Christopher Eccleston.
The trailer, released on Sunday, details the moment when the 80-year-old king divides his kingdom among his daughters Goneril, Regan and Cordelia but only after each one professes their love for their father. “Now that we have divided in three our kingdom, what can you say to draw a third more opulent than your sisters?” he asks Cordelia (Florence Pugh). “Nothing, my lord” she replies stubbornly, setting the tone of things that follow.
The production reunites Hopkins and Thompson 25 years after Howards End (1992) and The Remains of The Day (1993). King Lear will be available for streaming on Amazon later this year, revealed Indiewire.