Shakespeare's tragic King Lear celebrates unhappy birthday [audio 60min]

On Boxing Day 1606, the entertainment offered to King James I and his guests at Whitehall Palace was a new play by William Shakespeare -- King Lear. Four hundred years on, Francine Stock brings to life every aspect of that momentous opening night with her studio full of guests, including actors Fiona Shaw and Oliver Ford Davis; scholars Jonathan Bate, Richard Dutton, Brett Dolman and Tiffany Stern; food historian Ivan Day; and musicians Passamezzo (along with some distinguished contributors from the BBC Archives).