The character of King Lear represents a very special challenge for Bernhard Minetti, the grand master of German theatre who is now over 80 years of age. After all, the play Thomas Bernhard wrote for Minetti, entitled “Minetti”, depicts an actor’s struggle to portray Lear - an actor by the name of Minetti attempting in vain to master the role of Lear - and in 1976 Minetti acted in this play when it was performed in Stuttgart. Now he presents us with a demonstration of how to master successfully the role of Lear in a production of the play at the Berlin Schaubühne directed by Klaus Michael Grüber. Here Shakespeare’s scenes with Lear are intercut with scenes from Bernhard’s “Minetti”: Minetti plays against Minetti - producing a fascinating insight into theatre work, exploring the possibilities and limitations of art and truth.