'If you do 100 Lears in a row, the 100th one is going to be more insightful than the first. I learn, night by night, and King Lear is such a compelling role. There is a wonderful line at the end of the play where he is running out of life and his breath is going and he says to another character, quite quietly, 'Pray you, un-do this button... thank you, sir'.
'In this great, great tragedy, something as ordinary as a button takes on significance and I am convinced that in Shakespeare's day, audiences would have actually seen the button – and if they could see the button, they could see the eyes.
'In the theatre, it is so important to be in touch with the audience and to be heard. Microphones are used in some theatres now, so that actors can be heard in a large space... well, I'd rather be in a small space, in an intimate space, where no shouting is required.' (Ian McKellen)