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.
Michael Hordern
as King Lear
Sarah Badel
as Goneril
Penelope Wilton
as Regan
Angela Down
as Cordelia
Frank Middlemass
as Fool
Anthony Nicholls
as Earl of Gloucester
Michael Jayston
as Edmund
Ronald Pickup
as Edgar
Ewan Hooper
as Earl of Kent
Benjamin Whitrow
as Duke of Albany
John Shrapnel
as Duke of Cornwall
Donald Gee
as Oswald
