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More4 to celebrate McKellen’s career with a season of programmes

Published Thursday 13 November 2008 at 17:25 by Matthew Hemley

More4 is to celebrate the career of Ian McKellen with a special season of programmes, including a new film version of the Royal Shakespeare Company’s production of King Lear.

The television version of the play, filmed at Pinewood Studios and directed by Trevor Nunn, will form the centre of the Ian McKellen Season on More4 to be broadcast this Christmas. King Lear will include original cast members from the stage production - which played in Stratford-upon-Avon in 2007 before transferring to the New London Theatre - including Frances Barber, Sylvester McCoy and Romola Garai.

Other McKellen works in the season include recorded theatre productions of Othello, also directed by Nunn and with McKellen as Iago, Richard III with Annette Bening and Macbeth, with Judi Dench.

The Ian McKellen Season will also include a documentary called To be or Not to Be… in Shakespeare, which focuses on the challenge of playing Shakespeare’s heroes.

It includes interviews with the likes of McKellen, Diana Rigg and Zoe Wannamaker, who will discuss what is involved in playing some of Shakespeare’s roles.

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