King Lear, old and tired, divides his kingdom among his daughters, giving great importance to their protestations of love for him. When Cordelia, youngest and most honest, refuses to idly flatter the old man in return for favor, he banishes her and turns for support to his remaining daughters. But Goneril and Regan have no love for him and instead plot to take all his power from him. In a parallel, Lear's loyal courtier Gloucester favors his illegitimate son Edmund after being told lies about his faithful son Edgar. Madness and tragedy befall both ill-starred fathers.

Cast & crew

Jonathan Miller

Director

Michael Hordern

King Lear

Sarah Badel

Goneril

Penelope Wilton

Regan

Angela Down

Cordelia

Frank Middlemass

Fool

Anthony Nicholls

Earl of Gloucester

Michael Jayston

Edmund

Ronald Pickup

Edgar

Ewan Hooper

Earl of Kent

Benjamin Whitrow

Duke of Albany

John Shrapnel

Duke of Cornwall

Donald Gee

Oswald

David Horovitch

Duke of Burgundy

David Neal

King of France

George Merritt

Old Man

M

Mike Hayward

First Servant

R

Roger Elliott

Second Servant

G

Geoffrey Collins

Third Servant

D

David Kincaid

Gentleman / Attendanton Cordelia

L

Leslie Glazer

Doctor