I do note that in one version I saw (by the Royal Shakespeare Company, no less, I believe!), with Ian Mckellen in it as Lear, the baddies were all played by working class white actors, while the heroes were all a) posh, or b) *black…
Obviously that was intentional, but at the time I just thought the casting was jarring, not necessarily outright seditious, lol…
I do note that in one version I saw (by the Royal Shakespeare Company, no less, I believe!), with Ian Mckellen in it as Lear, the baddies were all played by working class white actors, while the heroes were all a) posh, or b) *black…
Obviously that was intentional, but at the time I just thought the casting was jarring, not necessarily outright seditious, lol…