KING LEAR: till 14 October
KING LEAR William Shakespeare
Albery Theatre 13 January-5 February 2005
Mon-Sat 7pm Mat Sat & 26 Jan 1pm
Understudy performance 26 Jan 1.pm
Audio-described 22 Jan 1pm, 2 Feb
Captioned 5 Feb 1pm
Runs: 3h 55m, one interval
TICKETS: 0870 060 6621
www.rsc.org.uk
Review: Rod Dungate, 17 July 2004 at Royal Shakespeare Theatre Strtatford-upon-Avon
Sometimes a production of a play you think you know inside out is a revelation and shows you, you don't this is one such occasion.Here are Edgar's closing words in a way, they encapsulate everything that's marvellous in Bill Alexander's production. 'The weight of this sad time we must obey,/ Speak what we feel, not what we ought to say,/ The oldest hath borne most: we that are young/ Shall never see so much, nor live so long.'
The production works totally at an emotional level not in a silly, sloppy fashion, but in a deep part of our psyche. The company don't tell us the story, they enable us to feel it. John Normington's fool is older than the fool is sometimes cast. This gives us a shifting set of moving relationships between the older men Lear-Fool, Lear-Kent, later Lear-Gloucester. These men have years of understanding between them, events of the play draw them closer together we make the journey with them.
Running alongside this is Pal Aron's Edgar. Aron creates a vulnerable Edgar, one we really care about even through those seemingly preposterous characterisations he assumes. Watching his Poor Tom, moved by it, we are forced to drop our reservations about character illogicality. To see Edgar consciously adopt the rustic role thrust upon him by Oswald 'Chill not let go, zir, without vurther 'casion' is a magical moment. And so the emotion-baton, when not in the hands of the older men, is in Edgar's hand.
There is a lovely contrast between Lear (Corin Redgrave) and Gloucester (David Hargreaves). Redgrave's Lear may be old, but he's tough even sprightly. His mad scenes are played with an incredibly light touch his madness is less theatrical, less sentimental, but all the more moving. Contrasting with this, Hargreaves's Gloucester is frail the pay-off for the production, that his torture is all the more cruel.
Emily Raymond's Gonerill and Ruth Gemmell's Regan contrast perfectly with the other characters. Their cruelty is icy, surgical, a product of their aristocratic breeding. In the audience we are in danger of frostbite. But at telling moments their poise drops and the animal shows through.
The whole production evidences an extraordinary depth of understanding of the text. This may show up in relationships (Kent constantly pulling Poor Tom away from Lear) or in unsurprising lines suddenly taking on new meaning (a feature of this production) Lear's: 'Thank you, sir' following on from: 'Pray you, undo this button.'
One final textual note: I'm more than ever convinced that Edgar's cheesier direct address lines should be dropped. It's certainly not Aron's fault - but not only do they do nothing to increase our understanding they also positively get in the way. Perhaps Shakespeare was having his own senior moment.
King Lear: Corin Redgrave
Gonerill: Emily Raymond
Duke of Albany: Leo Wringer
Regan: Ruth Gemmell
Duke of Cornwall: Anatol Yusef
Cordelia: Sian Brooke
King of France/ Gentleman: Samuel Clemens
Duke of Burgundy/ Captain: Caolan Byrne
Earl of Kent: Louis Hilyer
Earl of Gloucester: David Hargreaves
Edgar: Pal Aron
Edmund: Matthew Rhys
Moriai: Michael G Jones
Lear's Fool: John Normington
Oswald: Sean Hannaway
Curan/ Doctor: Peter Bygott
Lady to Lear: Louse Bangay
Knight to Lear; Servant to Cornwall: Matt Cross
King to Lear/ Servant to Cornwall: Tam Mutu
Knight to Lear/ Servant to Cornwall: Jack Whitam
Directed by : Bill Alexander
Set Designed by: Tom Piper
Costumes Designed by: Kandis Cook
Lighting Designed by: Tim Mitchell
Music Composed by: Jonathan Goldstein
Sound designed by: David Tinson
Fights Directed by: Malcolm Ranson
Assistant Director: Emma Stuart
Music Director: Jeremy Holland-Smith
Company Voice Work by: Lyn Darnley
2004-07-18 14:42:26