The story of a king who craves flattery—and the daughter who refuses him even at the cost of her own inheritance.
King Lear wants nothing more than to be praised, and when he decides to divide his realm according to how much each of his daughters can impress him with their declarations of love, Goneril and Regan are quick to oblige. Only the youngest, Cordelia, cannot give him what he wants—and she is promptly cut out of his will.
Lear's decision will roil not only his family but his kingdom, for the political implications of the inheritance set off a tragic series of events as Lear's madness grows. One of the theater's greatest works, re-popularized most recently by the 2018 film adaptation starring Anthony Hopkins, King Lear is a cornerstone of Western literature and a timeless story.
William Shakespeare (1564–1616) föddes i Stratford-upon-Avon och trots att lite är känt om honom räknas han som litteraturhistoriens viktigaste dramatiker. Känd och spelad redan under sin livstid fick hans trettiosju pjäser ett ännu större erkännande efter den första samlade utgåvan 1623. I Sverige vaknade intresset för Shakespeare relativt sent, men han har alltsedan mitten av 1800-talet spelats på alla stora teatrar i olika odödliga tolkningar och uppsättningar."Shakespeare tillhörde inte bara en tidsålder, utan evigheten." Ben Jonson
