At the end of February 1964, the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) performed two of its recent successes in Budapest: The Comedy of Errors, directed by Clifford Williams, and King Lear, directed by Peter Brook. It is no exaggeration to claim that these productions had a significant impact on the Hungarian theatre scene, profoundly influencing subsequent Hungarian stagings of Shakespeare’s plays. Therefore, this essay aims to achieve two objectives: first, to examine the Hungarian critical reception of the RSC’s King Lear, with particular attention to how contemporary reviews reflected on the novelties the production showcased. Second, it seeks to trace the broader impact of the RSC’s visit on Hungarian culture and the interpretation of Shakespeare’s plays.