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James Shapiro, the leading Shakespeare scholar whose books include 1599 and 1606, chooses one of the playwright’s smallest roles.

The First Servant in King Lear plays a crucial part, trying to defend his master Gloucester, whose eyes are being gouged out.

The extract is from the 1994 Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú Radio King Lear, starring John Gielgud as Lear, with Richard Briers as Gloucester and Oliver Ford Davies as First Servant. Available on CD.