King Lear of King Lear" (1949), argues that "Lear" dramatizes, among other things, the current meanings of "Nature". The words "nature," "natural" and "unnatural" occur over forty times in the play, reflecting a debate in Shakespeare's time about what nature really was like; this debate pervades the play and finds symbolic expression in Lear's changing attitude to Thunder. There are two strongly contrasting views of human nature in the play: that of the Lear party (Lear, Gloucester, Albany, Kent), exemplifying the philosophy of Bacon and Hooker, and that of the Edmund party (Edmund, Cornwall, Goneril, Regan), akin to the views later formulated
King Lear to be that old and to be banished from your family into the open air in a storm. That's a level of impoverishment you would never want to see in any other human being, ever." In 2016 Talawa Theatre Company and Royal Exchange Manchester co-produced a production of "King Lear" with Don Warrington in the title role. The production, featuring a largely black cast, was described in "The Guardian" as being "as close to definitive as can be". "The Daily Telegraph" said "Don Warrington's King Lear is a heartbreaking tour de force". "King Lear" was also staged by Royal Shakespeare