King Lear at Arts Centre Melbourne

Shakespeare's epic of the imagination, King Lear, creates a portrait of a family and a country torn apart.

King Lear has ruled for a lifetime. He has plans for succession – the Kingdom is to be shared among his three daughters. But when he is challenged, Lear’s reaction unravels his family and ultimately the country, hurling him into a storm of rage, self-discovery, and perhaps even acceptance.

Is this Shakespeare’s great exploration of ‘filial ingratitude’? Or the sad tale of an old man in decline and the terrible choices forced upon his daughters? Is it the story of an appallingly entitled and selfish king? Or a daughter too naïve and proud to compromise for an ailing father? It is about all these things, and more. Shakespeare’s epic of the imagination, performed in the profoundly intimate setting of The Neilson Nutshell and the Fairfax Studio.

For the first time since 2010, Bell Shakespeare presents King Lear. Directed by Peter Evans and starring one of Australia’s finest classical actors Robert Menzies, this heart-wrenching new production promises to be powerful and utterly unforgettable.

About Robert Menzies

Robert Menzies is one of this country’s great classical actors. For Bell Shakespeare he has given us the fatherly, sensitive yet politic Polonius in Hamlet, and the poetic, philosophical but tough-minded Friar in Romeo and Juliet. Robert’s career spans four decades working on some of the great productions in our theatre history. We are thrilled to present his powerful, brilliant and entirely unique performance of Lear.