David Farnor | On 02, Jul 2016

BBC iPlayer will stream Don Warrington’s King Lear this summer.

The free release of the play continues the BBC’s Shakespeare Lives festival, a six-month online celebration of the 400th anniversary of the Bard’s death, which began on 23rd April 2016 with a day full of live-streamed events, culminating in the release of David Tennant’s Richard II.

On 11th July, Tennant’s Richard II will be joined by the recording of Don Warrington’s performance as King Lear at Manchester’s Royal Exchange. The play will be available to stream for three months, both on BBC iPlayer and on the British Council’s Shakespeare Lives website.

The sell-out production, directed by Michael Buffong, was filmed in the round in April and May. The co-production between Talawa Theatre Company and the Royal Exchange also starred Harry Potter’s Alfred Enoch, Holby City’s Rakie Avola, The Bill’s Philip Whitchurch and Emmerdale’s Wil Johnson.

The recording was co-produced by Saffron Cherry TV in association with Lion Eyes TV and was funded by digital commissioned body The Space. There are also plans for a possible cinema broadcast in the next year, as well as a digital download release.

The Space’s chief executive Fiona Morris told the BBC the digital premiere would “ensure that the audience for this powerful production continues to grow”.

Buffong told The Stage the recording is “an exciting opportunity to bring this epic story of family conflict against a backdrop of a father’s deteriorating mental health to a wider audience”. “We are always seeking to push ourselves as artists, always trying to go beyond what is expected.”

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