Setting

Click on the images below to find out more about where King Lear is set.
  • A procession of people in black, one carrying a large gold disc on a staff.
    Lear’s Britain is pagan and unnamed gods are believed to influence people’s lives.
  • A woman crouches down to look at a golden crown.
    Lear’s Britain is a place where women are considered less fit to rule than men.
  • A man talks to a table of men and women in front of a map of Great Britain.
    Lear’s Britain is ruled by a king. Social class is important and there is a hierarchy of dukes and earls.
  • A man sits on the ground in front of a shrivelled tree with a blanket around him
    There are many poor and homeless people in Lear’s Britain.
  • An old man in military dress officiates a wedding.
    Alliances between countries are made by marriage. This is what Lear wants to happen when Cordelia marries France.
  • A man reads a letter at his desk.
    Letters and messengers are the most common way for people to communicate over long distances.

Every performance of King Lear will be set in a place that considers all of the things above but that can be done in lots of different ways. For example, the play could be set in a distant mythical Britain, a futuristic apocalyptic Britain, or a time similar to one we recognise but in a different country or parallel universe.

Why do you think changing the world or setting of the play might be helpful for modern audiences? Where might you choose to set King Lear?

Teacher Notes

On this page students can explore some of the key things that we know about the setting of King Lear by clicking on the pictures.

You can use these pictures, or other images, as a starting point to discuss what they know about the setting of the play and to think about where they would set the play if they were creating their own production. A great way of doing this visually is for students to create a mood board or collage of images that could be used as design inspiration.

The activity in the Teacher Notes on the Productions page develops on this and asks students to think about creating a design for their own production.