The Dresser

The Dresser centres on a small English regional theatre during the Second World War, where a touring company is preparing to stage Shakespeare's King Lear. Air raids are under way outside, the curtain is due shortly, and the actor-manager known as Sir, who is to play Lear, cannot be found. Norman, his dresser, works to hold the production together while waiting to see whether Sir arrives and whether he is fit to go on. The film is a two-hander of sorts about the bond between the two men, set against the last days of a long stage career.

Richard Eyre directed, working from a screenplay by Ronald Harwood. It is the fifth of seven features Eyre directed, sitting between The Other Man and The Children Act. Ian McKellen plays Norman and Anthony Hopkins plays Sir, with Emily Watson, Vanessa Kirby, Sarah Lancashire and Edward Fox in supporting roles. It was produced by the BBC and Playground Entertainment, and runs 109 minutes.

Released in 2015, the film drew a critics' rating of 8.2/10 from 14 reviews, compared with 6.8/10 on IMDb from around 4,000 votes and 6.2/10 on TMDB. The critical score is notably stronger than the audience scores on both sites, though the two audience figures differ from each other as well, and the number of TMDB votes is small.