Damien Atkins

Anna, the festival's efficient assistant manager, steps in to help Geoffrey with Charles. But King Lear loses its Regan as actress Ellen Fanshaw flees the festival for the promise of a big payday on TV.

The final rehearsal of King Lear turns into a full-on train wreck, as Charles fumbles dozens of lines. With East Hastings a smashing success, Richard--now known as "Big Dick" among his youthful admirers--proposes the heretofore unthinkable: moving the Shakespearean tragedy into the workshop stage and the musical into the main venue.

Charles Kingman--the theatrical lion whom Geoffrey has recruited to play Lear--brings some secret demons of his own to the production and immediately alienates cast and crew alike. Meanwhile, the festival's general manager, Richard Smith-Jones, flexes his creative muscles.