Nothing much comes of nothing in Belvoir’s new version of King Lear

By Kirk Dodd, Lecturer in English and Writing, University of Sydney

Since its first performance in 1606, King Lear has earned its place as Shakespeare’s largest and most revered powerhouse tragedy.

The story follows an elderly King Lear (played in Belvoir’s new production by Colin Friels) who divides his kingdom among his three daughters according to their declared love. But he ends up rewarding his deceitful daughters Goneril (Charlotte Friels) and Regan (Jana Zvedeniuk) with powerful estates, while banishing his honest daughter Cordelia (Ahunim Abebe) for speaking plainly.

As Lear is betrayed by Goneril and Regan, his fragile mental…

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