[tv trailer] King Lear

[Arthur]

Anthony Hopkins, Emma Thompson and Emily Watson star in Shakespeare’s King Lear. Adapted and directed by Richard Eyre. Bank Holiday Monday 28 May, at 9.30pm, on BBC Two.

 

The 80-year-old King Lear divides his kingdom among his daughters, Goneril, Regan and Cordelia, according to their affection for him. Cordelia refuses to flatter him, so he banishes her. Having acquired power, Goneril and Regan expel their father from their homes. At the same time, Lear's prime minister, Gloucester, is betrayed by his son Edmund and his other son, Edgar, is forced to go into hiding. Lear becomes mad, Gloucester is blinded: both the kingdom and the family collapse into chaos and warfare. Lear and Cordelia are reunited - for a brief moment love reigns, then tragedy descends.