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What is it like reading this play now? How has it aged?

Though rich in action, the play is also laden with intricate text. Barring a few lower-status characters who speak sparingly, the dialogue is sophisticated, intellectual, and at times, esoteric. There’s a certain charm in this – the characters revel in their eloquence. Yet, there’s an irony that a play inspired by Shakespeare, whose language today is deemed ‘challenging’, also occupies a linguistic realm that, upon contemporary reading, feels somewhat removed.

What does it tell us about the past and the present? 

For those who know Shakespeare’s “King Lear”, this play provides intriguing insights into the backgrounds of its key characters. Imagine Cordelia’s bond with her family being traced back to a traumatic childhood event, or the sisters growing up while watching their mother and grandmother vie for their father’s affection. There’s also the surprising backstory of the Fool, who once was a respected minister and took on the jester’s role not by choice but by circumstance. While these tales are set in days long past, the play’s central themes – the allure and pitfalls of power, personal ambition, and the ongoing debate over England’s royal authority – remain strikingly relevant today, showing us that some stories, challenges, and questions are truly timeless.

If you like this play you might also like…?

Shakespeare’s King Lear, and other plays inspired by it: Lear by Edward Bond, Lear’s Daughter’s by Elaine Feinstein, King Charles III by Mike Bartlett