Old King Lear decides to divide his kingdom among his three daughters. Two of them, Goneril and Regan, speak honeyed words to stake their claims, but his dearest daughter, Cordelia, has no such lying words, and says nothing.

“Nothing will come of nothing. Speak again,” says her father. But she cannot.

And a whole set of consequences follow: Lear loses it, sends her away for ever, and begins to lose all control.

At the same time, nasty Edmund, the bastard son of Gloucester, tricks his brother Edgar into running away, and tells lies about him to their father. Gloucester begins to lose control, and wants to kill himself. But he is saved by his good son Edgar, disguised as Poor Tom.

When Cordelia comes back and forgives her distraught father, the audience must think everything is about to turn out all right.

But what has Shakespeare got in store for these characters…..?