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.
Ian McKellen
as King Lear
Romola Garai
as Cordelia
Monica Dolan
as Regan
Sylvester McCoy
as The Fool
Philip Winchester
as Edmund
Peter Hinton
as Duke of Burgundy
Jonathan Hyde
as Earl of Kent
Frances Barber
as Goneril
William Gaunt
as Earl of Gloucester
Julian Harries
as Duke of Albany
