Film Property
1968 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Hand-painted wooden cup and ball, used by the Fool in Peter Brook's 1971 film of Shakespeare's King Lear. The film starred Paul Scofield as Lear.
In 2004 a poll of 200 members of the Royal Shakespeare Company voted Paul Scofield’s King Lear as the greatest performance in a play by Shakespeare. Scofield played Lear for the RSC in 1962, directed by Peter Brook. ‘This production brings me closer to Lear than I have ever been; from now on, I not only know him but can place him in his harsh and unforgiving world’, wrote Kenneth Tynan (Observer, 11 November 1962). Scofield’s towering performance was re-created for the screen when Brook directed a film of the play, released in 1971. This was not intended as a film of the stage version, though it used several of the RSC production’s leading players. It was shot on location in the snow-covered landscapes of North Jutland, Denmark, during the winter of 1968-1969. Filmed in black and white, play and setting matched each other in bleakness.
In 2004 a poll of 200 members of the Royal Shakespeare Company voted Paul Scofield’s King Lear as the greatest performance in a play by Shakespeare. Scofield played Lear for the RSC in 1962, directed by Peter Brook. ‘This production brings me closer to Lear than I have ever been; from now on, I not only know him but can place him in his harsh and unforgiving world’, wrote Kenneth Tynan (Observer, 11 November 1962). Scofield’s towering performance was re-created for the screen when Brook directed a film of the play, released in 1971. This was not intended as a film of the stage version, though it used several of the RSC production’s leading players. It was shot on location in the snow-covered landscapes of North Jutland, Denmark, during the winter of 1968-1969. Filmed in black and white, play and setting matched each other in bleakness.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Wood, paint, cord |
| Brief description | Hand-painted wooden cup and ball, used by the Fool in Peter Brook's 1971 film of King Lear by William Shakespeare (1564-1616) |
| Physical description | Hand-painted wooden cup and ball. The ball is attached to the handle of the wooden cup with a woven cord which is knotted at both ends. Both the ball and the exterior of the cup are handpainted in tones of black, blue and white, the ball with a stylised curvilinear pattern, the cup in motifs which resemble gothic windows. |
| Dimensions |
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| Credit line | Given by Martin Scofield |
| Association | |
| Literary reference | King Lear |
| Summary | Hand-painted wooden cup and ball, used by the Fool in Peter Brook's 1971 film of Shakespeare's King Lear. The film starred Paul Scofield as Lear. In 2004 a poll of 200 members of the Royal Shakespeare Company voted Paul Scofield’s King Lear as the greatest performance in a play by Shakespeare. Scofield played Lear for the RSC in 1962, directed by Peter Brook. ‘This production brings me closer to Lear than I have ever been; from now on, I not only know him but can place him in his harsh and unforgiving world’, wrote Kenneth Tynan (Observer, 11 November 1962). Scofield’s towering performance was re-created for the screen when Brook directed a film of the play, released in 1971. This was not intended as a film of the stage version, though it used several of the RSC production’s leading players. It was shot on location in the snow-covered landscapes of North Jutland, Denmark, during the winter of 1968-1969. Filmed in black and white, play and setting matched each other in bleakness. |
| Other number | THM/397/7/2/2/2 - Archive number |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | S.145-2013 |
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| Record created | January 23, 2014 |
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