“Ian McKellen's detailed, intelligent performance is a triumph” (Evening Standard) in this contemporary retelling of Shakespeare’s tender tragedy about two aging fathers—one a King (McKellen), one his courtier—who reject the children who truly love them. Their blindness unleashes a tornado of pitiless ambition and treachery, as family and state are plunged into a violent power struggle with bitter ends. Runtime: 3h40m

“In the wraparound intimacy of this space, McKellen is able to heighten the intensity of what Lear says through colloquial understatement and a playing-around with the beat and tempo of the verse that gives an almost jazz-like freedom and unpredictability to the king’s utterances.” —The Independent

VIEW TRAILER
BUY TICKETS

Hopkins Center
Accessibility Services