Obsessed with Lear

I have an obsession with King Lear. If it is on & I hear about it, I have to see it.  There have been some productions where I've been so hooked I've had to watch it multiple times, something about that play really gets under my skin. In terms of the richness of the language it is Shakespeare at the very peak of his powers.

The current production at the Almeida did not disappoint. While it has not triggered my obsessive need to repeat view, it is nonetheless a very solid and well performed production.  Jonathan Pryce makes a wonderful Lear. One moment he is convincingly  obnoxious and selfish, the next quite roaring mad and in the end, so reduced that I cried.

Other stand out performances included Zoe Waites as a beautifully cruel Goneril, Ian Gelder as loyal Kent and Richard Goulding as a spirited Edgar. I also enjoyed Phoebe Fox's feisty Cordelia, it was so nice not to have her moping around being all goodness & perfection. This Cordelia is a living and breathing human, not some 2 dimensional symbol of female virtue.

Edmund remains my favourite Shakespearean villain, and Kieran Bew brings him to life with a healthy dose of bluntness that brings his selfishness & all consuming ambition to the fore.  

The only reason that I'm not queuing up to go back for another helping is that it was essentially (apologies for repeating myself) a very solid production, with no major surprises, the most controversial aspect being an angry Cordelia. Maybe  I've seen too many Lears over the years, or maybe seeing  fresh modern fringe theatre means  that I require higher levels of innovation to keep me entertained.  I suspect ultimately it is to do with the overall chemistry of the complete piece.

 Many years ago I saw a production of Lear also at the Almeida (although they were in a temporary site at the time) which I was compelled to see 3 times. Oliver Ford Davies was Lear, and he was excellent. But what really hooked me was the interplay between Edmund (James Frain) and Edgar (Tom Hollander). It was the first production that made me care about poor Edgar's fate, while Frain was so deliciously villainous as Edmund that you really felt torn between the two. 

Chemistry is a funny thing, particularly in the world of theatre. You can break apart the pieces of the whole & enjoy them based on their individual merit but when put together some magic ingredient might be missing. So good doesn't quite attain the heights of greatness.

Saying that, this is most definitely a very good Lear.