It is deliciously funny and moving. It is also profoundly about why people perform and create art. And it is heartbreakingly accurate about actors and the theatre.
Overview
One fateful night in a small English regional theatre during World War II a troupe of touring actors stage a production of Shakespeares King Lear. Bombs are falling, sirens are wailing, the curtain is up in an hour but the actor/manager Sir who is playing Lear is nowhere to be seen. His dresser Norman must scramble to keep the production alive but will Sir turn up in time and if he does will he be able to perform that night? The Dresser is a wickedly funny and deeply moving story of friendship and loyalty as Sir reflects on his lifelong accomplishments and seeks to reconcile his turbulent friendships with those in his employ before the final curtain.
Director and cast
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
It's delightful and winning, both sad and funny and touching on so many levels. Welcome this little gem into your arms if you can.
It is, it really is, just as magnificent, powerful and enthralling as you would imagine. Yet to assume the greatness of The Dresser based on the simply sum of its parts is to miss the whole point of the story.
Of course, it's a showcase of great acting, as you would expect, but The Dresser is also a well-tailored play enriched by layers of metaphor and irony.
The Dresser rises and falls on the strength of its central duo, and it's hard to imagine two currently working actors who could rival Courtenay and Finney as well as McKellen and Hopkins do.
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