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King Lear Act 1 Scene 5

The Fool (Sylvester McCoy) reminds Lear (Ian McKellen) about how foolish he was to banish Cordelia and favour Goneril and Regan.

Director interview (Trevor Nunn)

Trevor discusses the setting and relevance of King Lear, the themes and verse, and why it's paired with The Seagull.

King Lear 1:2 Extract 1

Edmund (Philip Winchester), Gloucester's illegitimate son, confides in the audience that he plans to trick Gloucester in order to inherit land bequeathed to Edgar.

King Lear 1:2 Extract 2

His plotting now well underway, Edmund (Philip Winchester) tells Edgar (Ben Meyjes) that Gloucester is angry. The scene ends with Edmund's smug soliloguy.

Philip Winchester (Edmund)

After filming Act 1 Scene 2, Philip answers our questions about playing Edmund and how he succeeds in his plotting.

Changeover - Seagull to Lear

The Courtyard crew take 1.5 hours to transform the stage set from The Seagull to King Lear. Watch it here in just 30 seconds.

Performance photo gallery

From Lear's test of love to the tragic ending, explore Trevor Nunn's touring production in pictures.

Rehearsal photo gallery

Join the King Lear company behind the scenes in rehearsal.

Teachers' notes [PDF 508K]

Activities for teaching King Lear, based on RSC rehearsal room practice. (You need PDF reader software.)

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What is the setting for your production? And how did you decide on this?

Act and Scene
Credit
Date: 2007-04-02
Copyright: © RSC 2007

Do you focus on Lear's personal journey, the family relationships, or a mixture?

Act and Scene
Credit
Date: 2007-04-02
Copyright: © RSC 2007

[Interviewer demonstrates how Ian McKellen changes the meaning of a line by stressing a different word.] Does Ian find these meanings independently? And does he do the same every night?!

Act and Scene
Credit
Date: 2007-04-02
Copyright: © RSC 2007

Why does Edgar use varied language and voices, and play different roles?

Act and Scene
Credit
Date: 2007-04-02
Copyright: © RSC 2007

[Interviewer refers to the blinding of Gloucester] Is there something particularly relevant about doing Lear now, when recent wars have exposed us to the horrors of torture again?

Act and Scene
Credit
Date: 2007-04-02
Copyright: © RSC 2007

This is a touring production with The Seagull - why have you chosen this play as the companion production?

Act and Scene
Credit
Date: 2007-04-02
Copyright: © RSC 2007

How did you research Lear? Did you read any of the many books on the subject, or did you ignore it to arrive at your interpretation?

Act and Scene
Credit
Date: 2007-04-02
Copyright: © RSC 2007

Sometimes Goneril and Regan are cast as 'evil witches'. How have you interpreted the sisters, and Lear?

Act and Scene
Credit
Date: 2007-04-02
Copyright: © RSC 2007

These clips are taken from a recording of the Director Talk public event on 2 April 2007 in the Courtyard Theatre. Interview by Jonathan Bate.

Download: transcript [PDF]

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