King Lear Tags

Act 1 Scene 1

Placeholder for Hamlet Quarto 2

Act 1, Scene 1

Published in 1603 and considered to be a bad quarto.

King Lear

Period written: 1605 First known performance: December 26, 1606 Lear, King of Britain, in an attempt to avoid future strife, divides his kingdom between his three daughters. His eldest two, Regan (wife of Cornwall) and...

King Lear: Act I, Scene 1

Scene 1 King Lear’s palace. (Kent, Gloucester, Edmund, King Lear, Cornwall, Albany, Goneril, Regan, Cordelia, Attendants, Gloucester, France,...

King Lear: Act I, Scene 2

Scene 2 The Earl of Gloucester’s castle. (Edmund the Bastard, Gloucester, Edgar) Enter Edmund the Bastard with...

King Lear: Act I, Scene 3

Scene 3 The Duke of Albany’s palace. (Goneril, Oswald) Enter Goneril and Steward...

King Lear: Act I, Scene 4

Scene 4 A hall in the Duke of Albany’s palace. (Kent, Lear, Knights, Attendants, Oswald, Fool, Goneril, Albany)

King Lear: Act I, Scene 5

Scene 5 Court before the palace. (Lear, Kent, Fool, First Gentleman) Enter Lear, Kent disguised as Caius, and...

King Lear: Act II, Scene 1

Scene 1 The Earl of Gloucester’s castle. (Edmund, Curan, Edgar, Gloucester, Servants, Cornwall, Regan, Attendants)

King Lear: Act II, Scene 2

Scene 2 Before Gloucester’s castle. (Kent, Oswald, Edmund, Cornwall, Regan, Gloucester, Servants) Enter Kent...

King Lear: Act II, Scene 3

Scene 3 A wood. (Edgar) Enter Edgar. EDG. I heard myself...

King Lear: Act II, Scene 4

Scene 4 Before Gloucester’s castle. (Lear, Fool, First Gentleman, Kent, Gloucester, Cornwall, Regan, Gloucester, Servants, Oswald,...

King Lear: Act III, Scene 1

Scene 1 A heath. (Kent, First Gentleman) Storm still. Enter Kent disguised as Caius and First Gentleman...

King Lear: Act III, Scene 2

Scene 2 Another part of the heath. (Lear, Fool, Kent) Storm still. Enter Lear and...

King Lear: Act III, Scene 3

Scene 3 Gloucester’s castle. (Gloucester, Edmund) Enter Gloucester and Edmund with...

King Lear: Act III, Scene 4

Scene 4 The heath. Before a hovel. (Lear, Kent, Fool, Edgar, Gloucester) Enter Lear, Kent disguised as Caius, and...

King Lear: Act III, Scene 5

Scene 5 Gloucester’s castle. (Cornwall, Edmund) Enter Cornwall and...

King Lear: Act III, Scene 6

Scene 6 A chamber in a farmhouse adjoining the castle. (Kent, Gloucester, Lear, Edgar, Fool) Enter Kent disguised as...

King Lear: Act III, Scene 7

Scene 7 Gloucester’s castle. (Cornwall, Regan, Goneril, Edmund, Servants, Oswald, Gloucester) Enter Cornwall,...

King Lear: Act IV, Scene 1

Scene 1 A heath. (Edgar, Gloucester, Old Man) Enter Edgar. EDG. Yet...

King Lear: Act IV, Scene 2

Scene 2 Before the Duke of Albany’s palace. (Goneril, Edmund, Oswald, Albany, Messenger) Enter Goneril, Bastard...

King Lear: Act IV, Scene 3

Scene 3 The French camp near Dover. (Kent, First Gentleman) Enter Kent and First...

King Lear: Act IV, Scene 4

Scene 4 The French camp near Dover. A tent. (Cordelia, Doctor, Soldiers, Officer, French Messenger) Enter, with Drum...

King Lear: Act IV, Scene 5

Scene 5 Gloucester’s Castle. (Regan, Oswald) Enter Regan and Steward...

King Lear: Act IV, Scene 6

Scene 6 Fields near Dover. (Gloucester, Edgar, Lear, First Gentleman, Attendants, Oswald) Enter Gloucester and Edgar...

King Lear: Act IV, Scene 7

Scene 7 The French camp near Dover. A tent. (Cordelia, Kent, Doctor, Lear, Servants, First Gentleman) Enter Cordelia,...

King Lear: Act V, Scene 1

Scene 1 The British camp near Dover. (Edmund, Regan, Gentlemen, Albany, Goneril, Soldiers, Edgar, Edmund) Enter, with...

King Lear: Act V, Scene 2

Scene 2 The battlefield between the two camps. (Powers of France, Cordelia, Lear, Edgar, Gloucester) Alarum within....

King Lear: Act V, Scene 3

Scene 3 The British camp near Dover. (Edmund, Lear, Cordelia, Soldiers, Captains, Albany, Goneril, Regan, Herald, Edgar, Second Gentleman, Kent, Second...

Lear Elicits Sympathy and Empathy

One of the first sunny days of the year finally arrives, and where better to go as the sun begins to dip towards the horizon, than into the crowds as they bustle into the seats and the yard of the Globe for director Dominic Dromgoole’s production o...

Lear Through Another Lens

It’s often said of Shakespeare that his work is universal. Unfortunately, this statement is very rarely put to the test. Sure, plenty of directors try to set Shakespeare in various times and places, but it’s...

Lear's Authority Lacks Stamina

The California Shakespeare Theater marks the end of Shakespeare season in the Bay Area with arguably the most challenging play of the canon: King Lear. This is a tough play to act, and it...

Stratford Lear is Light on its Feet

Brian Bedford has long been a mainstay of the Stratford Festival stage, having performed and directed to great acclaim. He’s even directed himself in a series of Noel Coward comedies over the past few years...

The Rain it Raineth Everyday...Even in the Theatre

This production of King Lear met with a series of unflattering reviews during its initial run in Liverpool as part of the City of Culture 2008 celebrations. However, these negatives reviews don’t seem to have damaged interest in its London...