BBC Drama

Four Quartets, Starring Ralph Fiennes (2022x9)

Air date: Oct 16, 2022

Inspired by a childhood memory of an old vinyl recording in the family home, Ralph Fiennes revisited TS Eliot’s Four Quartets during the 2020 lockdown, wondering if it could be given a theatrical treatment rather than merely recited. Theatre producers James Dacre of the Royal and Derngate theatres, and Danny Moar of the Theatre Royal Bath, got behind Fiennes’s idea. Hildegard Bechtler, Chris Shutt and Tim Lutkin created the set and costume design, sound and stage lighting, with Fiennes directing the production, which toured UK regional theatres and ran at the Pinter Theatre, London, in December 2021. This film, directed by Ralph’s sister Sophie, known for her work with Michael Clark, Grace Jones and les ballets C de la B, was made immediately after the live performances. The set and lighting were transported overnight from the West End and re-rigged in English National Ballet’s production studio.