SouthbankClassics on TV: Jacobean Tragedy on the Small Screen
The Changeling
Playwright Michael Hastings’ adaptation of Thomas Middleton and William Rowley’s 1622 play, with Elizabeth McGovern, Bob Hoskins and Hugh Grant.
PLEASE NOTE: this page refers to an April 2013 screening. Find out about or book tickets for Peter medak’s 1980 film The Changeling screening at BFI Southbank in January 2016.
Performance. BBC 1993
Directed by Simon Curtis
With Elizabeth McGovern, Bob Hoskins, Hugh Grant, Leslie Phillips
Running time 92 min
Playwright Michael Hastings adapted Thomas Middleton and William Rowley’s 1622 play and ruthlessly excised the asylum sub-plot. The cuts tighten the focus on the transgressive affair between the beautiful aristocrat Beatrice-Joanna and the facially disfigured arriviste De Flores. A poised performance from Elizabeth McGovern and a brave and daring embrace of his role by Bob Hoskins are key reasons to see what is, after 20 years, television’s most recent presentation of a non-Shakespearean early modern drama. Plus a 20-minute extract from Play of the Month: The Changeling (BBC 1974): As directed by Anthony Page, Helen Mirren and Stanley Baker offer a fascinating contrast to McGovern and Hoskins in their differing approaches to acting Jacobean drama.
The screening on Friday 26 April will be introduced by season curator John Wyver.
Temporary VAT-reduced rate for children: prices have been adjusted for all under 16’s tickets booked between 25 June and 1 September for screenings during the same period. BFI Riverfront will be closed until 5pm on 9 July.
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