李尔王（Romayne Andrews 饰）年事已高，他决定将广袤的国土分给自己的三个女儿科迪莉亚（Natalie Simpson 饰）、格纳利尔（Nia Gwynne 饰）和里根（Oliver Johnstone 饰）。李尔王让三个女儿说出各自心中对父王的爱戴，格纳利尔和里根极尽花言巧语之所能，得到了李尔王的赞赏，小女儿科迪莉亚质朴而诚实，反而遭到了无情的驱逐。
失去了家园的科迪莉亚成为了法国的王后，而得到了父亲大片疆土的大女儿和二女儿则将李尔王赶出了家门。直到流落荒野无处可去，李尔王才明白自己犯了天大的错误，他一边责怪自己的愚昧，一边心痛科迪莉亚的遭遇。得知了李尔王的境遇，科迪莉亚组织了军队准备向老家进攻，不幸的是，军队遭遇惨败，科迪莉亚也遭到了逮捕。最终，科迪莉亚被处死，年迈的李尔王在痛苦中亦追随而去。

英国皇家莎士比亚剧团（Royal Shakespeare Company）2014年重排的历史剧，在莎士比亚故乡，同时也是RSC总部的Stratford-upon-Avon，皇家莎士比亚剧院（Royal Shakespeare Theatre）现场向英国和欧美的影院进行直播（RSC Live）。
英国皇家莎士比亚剧团从2013年起，陆续推出“王与国”（King and Country）系列话剧，重排莎士比亚最著名的四部历史剧：《理查二世》、《亨利四世（上）》、《亨利四世（下）》和《亨利五世》，藉由2016年纪念莎士比亚逝世400周年之际，将该系列的四部戏带到伦敦巴比肯中心，中国的北京、上海和香港，美国纽约百老汇进行巡演（由大卫·田纳特主演的《理查二世》未能赴中国巡演）。

How had a twenty-two-year-old pretentious layabout made a discovery that would elude every other cinematic pioneer for years to come? In a remote village in Eastern Europe, around 1900, the young Motl Mendl is entranced by the flickering silent images on his father's cinematograph. Bankrolled by Jacob, the ebullient local timber merchant, and inspired by Anna, the girl sent to help him make moving pictures of their village, he stumbles on a revolutionary way of story-telling. Forty years on, Motl - now a famed American film director - looks back on his early life and confronts the cost of fulfilling his dreams. I know it was in the picture. I made the picture and now the cow's getting paid and I'm not! Following Vincent in Brixton and The Reporter, Nicholas Wright's new play is a funny and fascinating tribute to the Eastern European immigrants who became major players in Hollywood's golden age...

年逾花甲的推销员威利·洛曼，拎着两只沉重的、装样品的箱子回到家。他极度疲倦，仿佛已经走到了生命的尽头。只有老伴儿林达了解他、体贴他，尽一切努力来维护他的尊严，希望能给他一些生活下去的勇气和信心。然而，这一切似乎都无济于事……壮年时代的威利，一付精明强干的神气，两个儿子比夫和哈皮，是他的骄傲。尽管比夫的学习成绩不及格，也没有引起做父亲的重视，因为，他确认比夫将来完全可以当一名体育明星，然而，事与愿违，大儿子比夫多次离家出走，宁愿去当农业工人，也不愿留在充满竞争与欺诈的大城市里。在沉重的压力下，威利的精神恍惚不定。为了拯救威利，林达呼吁孩子们要怜爱父亲，甚至把威利要自杀的企图告诉了他们。这时，小儿子哈皮想出一个办法!让比夫向朋友借钱，由洛曼兄弟自家独立经营，以期干出一番事业来。这个令人振奋的设想，使全家人抱着新的希望进入了梦乡……为了预祝未来理想的实现，父子们约定在餐馆中聚会。而就在他们见面时，双方带来的都是不幸的消息：比夫没有借到钱，威利也被公司开除了。这使得父子间又发生了激烈的争吵，然而，他们谁也没搞清楚，生活不下去的社会原因。最终，威利还是自杀了…… 为了死后的保险赔偿给家人带来福利。

In a remote village in Eastern Europe, around 1900, the young Motl Mendl is entranced by the flickering silent images on his father’s cinematograph. Bankrolled by Jacob, the ebullient local timber merchant, and inspired by Anna, the girl sent to help him make moving pictures of their village, he stumbles on a revolutionary way of story-telling. Forty years on, Motl – now a famed American film director – looks back on his early life and confronts the cost of fulfilling his dreams.

The play picks up where Henry IV, Part One left off. Its focus is on Prince Hal's journey toward kingship, and his ultimate rejection of Falstaff. However, unlike Part One, Hal and Falstaff's stories are almost entirely separate, as the two characters meet only twice and very briefly. The tone of much of the play is elegiac, focusing on Falstaff's age and his closeness to death.
Falstaff is still drinking and engaging in petty criminality in the London underworld. Falstaff appears, followed by a new character, a young page whom Prince Hal has assigned him as a joke. Falstaff enquires what the doctor has said about the analysis of his urine, and the page cryptically informs him that the urine is healthier than the patient. Falstaff promises to outfit the page in "vile apparel" (ragged clothing). He then complains of his insolubility, blaming it on "consumption of the purse." They go off, Falstaff vowing to find a wife "in the stews" (i.e., the local brothels).
He has a relationship with Doll Tearsheet, a prostitute. When news of a second rebellion arrives, Falstaff joins the army again, and goes to the country to raise forces. There he encounters Mouldy, Bullcalf, Feeble, Shadow and Wart, a band of rustic yokels who are to be conscripted into the loyalist army, with two of whom, Mouldy and Bullcalf, bribing their way out. He also visits an old school friend, Justice Shallow, and they reminisce about their youthful follies.
In the other storyline, Hal remains an acquaintance of London lowlife and seems unsuited to kingship. His father, King Henry IV, has apparently forgotten his reconciliation with his son in Henry IV, Part One, and is again disappointed in the young prince. Another rebellion is launched against Henry IV, but this time it is defeated, not by a battle, but by the duplicitous political machinations of Hal's brother, Prince John. King Henry then sickens and appears to die. Hal, seeing this, believes he is King and exits with the crown. King Henry, awakening, is devastated, thinking Hal cares only about becoming King. Hal convinces him otherwise and the old king subsequently dies contentedly.
The two storylines meet in the final scene, in which Falstaff, having learned that Hal is now King, travels to London in expectation of great rewards. But Hal rejects him, saying that he has now changed, and can no longer associate with such people. The London lowlifes, expecting a paradise of thieves under Hal's governance, are instead purged and imprisoned by the authorities.
[edit]Epilogue
At the end of the play, an epilogue thanks the audience and promises that the story will continue in a forthcoming play "with Sir John in it, and make you merry with fair Katharine of France; where, for all I know, Falstaff shall die of a sweat". In fact, the subsequent play, Henry V, does not feature Falstaff. The Merry Wives of Windsor, set a hundred or more years after the Henry plays, does have "Sir John in it", but cannot be the play referred to, since the passage clearly describes the forthcoming story of Henry V and his wooing of Katherine of France. Falstaff does "die of a sweat" in Henry V, but in London at the beginning of the play. His death is offstage, described by another character and he never appears. His role as a cowardly soldier looking out for himself is taken by Ancient Pistol, his braggart sidekick in Henry IV, Part 2 and Merry Wives.

As rebellion rages through the land a King must look to his miscreant son for aid.

But will the son leave behind the pleasures of youth to meet his appointment with destiny?

Rated R. Contains strong language, and talk of country matters

"Falstaff rocks!"
-NTV

The play picks up where Henry IV, Part One left off. Its focus is on Prince Hal's journey toward kingship, and his ultimate rejection of Falstaff. However, unlike Part One, Hal and Falstaff's stories are almost entirely separate, as the two characters meet only twice and very briefly. The tone of much of the play is elegiac, focusing on Falstaff's age and his closeness to death.
Falstaff is still drinking and engaging in petty criminality in the London underworld. Falstaff appears, followed by a new character, a young page whom Prince Hal has assigned him as a joke. Falstaff enquires what the doctor has said about the analysis of his urine, and the page cryptically informs him that the urine is healthier than the patient. Falstaff promises to outfit the page in "vile apparel" (ragged clothing). He then complains of his insolubility, blaming it on "consumption of the purse." They go off, Falstaff vowing to find a wife "in the stews" (i.e., the local brothels).
He has a relationship with Doll Tearsheet, a prostitute. When news of a second rebellion arrives, Falstaff joins the army again, and goes to the country to raise forces. There he encounters Mouldy, Bullcalf, Feeble, Shadow and Wart, a band of rustic yokels who are to be conscripted into the loyalist army, with two of whom, Mouldy and Bullcalf, bribing their way out. He also visits an old school friend, Justice Shallow, and they reminisce about their youthful follies.
In the other storyline, Hal remains an acquaintance of London lowlife and seems unsuited to kingship. His father, King Henry IV, has apparently forgotten his reconciliation with his son in Henry IV, Part One, and is again disappointed in the young prince. Another rebellion is launched against Henry IV, but this time it is defeated, not by a battle, but by the duplicitous political machinations of Hal's brother, Prince John. King Henry then sickens and appears to die. Hal, seeing this, believes he is King and exits with the crown. King Henry, awakening, is devastated, thinking Hal cares only about becoming King. Hal convinces him otherwise and the old king subsequently dies contentedly.
The two storylines meet in the final scene, in which Falstaff, having learned that Hal is now King, travels to London in expectation of great rewards. But Hal rejects him, saying that he has now changed, and can no longer associate with such people. The London lowlifes, expecting a paradise of thieves under Hal's governance, are instead purged and imprisoned by the authorities.
[edit]Epilogue
At the end of the play, an epilogue thanks the audience and promises that the story will continue in a forthcoming play "with Sir John in it, and make you merry with fair Katharine of France; where, for all I know, Falstaff shall die of a sweat". In fact, the subsequent play, Henry V, does not feature Falstaff. The Merry Wives of Windsor, set a hundred or more years after the Henry plays, does have "Sir John in it", but cannot be the play referred to, since the passage clearly describes the forthcoming story of Henry V and his wooing of Katherine of France. Falstaff does "die of a sweat" in Henry V, but in London at the beginning of the play. His death is offstage, described by another character and he never appears. His role as a cowardly soldier looking out for himself is taken by Ancient Pistol, his braggart sidekick in Henry IV, Part 2 and Merry Wives.

As rebellion rages through the land a King must look to his miscreant son for aid.

But will the son leave behind the pleasures of youth to meet his appointment with destiny?

Rated R. Contains strong language, and talk of country matters

"Falstaff rocks!"
-NTV

As rebellion rages through the land a King must look to his miscreant son for aid.

But will the son leave behind the pleasures of youth to meet his appointment with destiny?

Rated R. Contains strong language, and talk of country matters

"Falstaff rocks!"
-NTV

一个古老的传说。莎士比亚悲剧的巅峰之作。
　　王被浮夸的辞藻蒙蔽了心灵，邪恶的女儿们得到了王国与财富，唯独诚实的小女儿郁郁远嫁。当她们曾经的信誓旦旦转眼之间化为不屑与厌恶时，王不得不流落荒野，在风雨交加中明白了何谓真情。只是，他已然疯了。善良的小女儿乔装回到父亲身边，以爱与宽恕唤回了父亲缥缈的理智。一场关乎手足、计谋、背叛的战争爆发了。女儿们一个个死去。黑暗中，王抱着小女儿的尸体，仰天大恸……
　　此剧由多位英美职业话剧演员加盟。他们在莎剧演出方面具有极为丰富的经验，代表了英美话剧表演的较高水平。其中格雷夫斯、麦可当纳德和迈克菲勒密已在英美话剧界活跃三十多年，熟悉并演出过每一部莎翁剧作，饰演过一百多个莎剧角色。奥考奈尔则为美国青年话剧演员中的佼佼者。四人的鼎力加盟不仅大大提升了此次制作的艺术水准，并为国内外莎剧表导演的交流提供一个良好契机。
　　美国纽约的雪城大学戏剧系六位毕业班学生也受邀参加此次演出，与北京大学外国戏剧与电影研究所的六位学生在剧中共同饰演角色，届时将分别登台亮相，为此剧注入不同的中西表演特色与理解。

The play's setting is primarily Zürich , Switzerland during the First World War. Three important personalities were living in Zürich at that time: the modernist author James Joyce , the communist revolutionary Lenin , and the founder of Dada , Tristan Tzara . In the play the less notable English consular official Henry Carr, who is likewise a real person and was similarly in Zürich, recalls his perceptions and his experiences with these influential figures. As he reminisces Carr's memory becomes prone to distraction, and instead of predictable historical biography these characters are interpreted through the maze of his mind.

Carr's memories are couched in a Zürich production of Oscar Wilde 's play The Importance of Being Earnest in which he had a starring role. Stoppard uses this production and Carr's mixed feelings surrounding it as a framework to explore art, the war and revolution. Situations from Earnest feature prominently within the action. The characters in Travesties also include versions of two from Earnest , Gwendolen and Cecily, and the comedic situations of many of the other roles are shared by other characters. Stoppard uses many theatrical devices within the play, including puns , limericks , and an extended parody of the vaudeville song " Mister Gallagher and Mister Shean ".

The real Carr did play Algernon with a group of actors called The English Players, for whom the real James Joyce was the business manager. Carr and Joyce had an angry disagreement after the play, which led to legal action and accusations of slander by Joyce. The dispute was settled with the judge deciding in favour of both disputants on different counts. Joyce later parodied Carr, and the English Consul General in Zürich at that time, A. Percy Bennett, as two minor characters in Ulysses , with Carr being portrayed as a drunken, obscene soldier in the "Circe" episode.

After the first performance of Travesties Stoppard received a letter from the real Henry Carr's widow, expressing her surprise that her late husband had found himself imagined as a character in Stoppard's play.

Complete four part series exploring the life of the world's greatest and most famous writer. Presenter-led, mixing travel, adventure, live action interviews and specially shot documentary and live action sequences with the RSC on the road. A history series - it focuses not on the plays, but on the history and sets the life of the poet in the extraordinary times in which he lived. We are introduced to the dark world of Queen Elizabeth's police state - a time of surveillance, militarism and foreign wars. We are reminded that Shakespeare lived through the Spanish Armada, the Gunpowder Plot, the colonisation of the New World and the beginnings of British power in America. But most importantly Shakespeare also lived through England’s Cultural Revolution: an enforced split with the old medieval English spirit world which was to lead the English people into a brave new Protestant future.