King Lear

There is little getting away from the sheer scale, the gory horror and darkness of King Lear. Nor can you escape the complexity of plots and sub-plots. You need to be on your toes. Last night’s performance was a densely packed three hours of drama, the setting moved to a threadbare Edwardian England, sparse and bleak. Michael Pennington makes an excellent Lear, emotionally needy, petulant when not hearing what he wants to hear and convincingly mad when madness strikes. In fact he is so good that the rest of the cast seem less accomplished. That however could be in part due to the break-neck speed with which they have been directed to deliver their lines. This production is full speed ahead at all times, and often to the detriment of both poetry and sense, and there is a lack of stillness too. I craved moments of contrast to the rapid fire action and those we were given were few and far between. Pace not pacy please! Visually though it was a feast, with an excellently realised storm and beautiful lighting.
Theatre Royal Brighton
3 May
Andrew Kay
3 stars