King Lear

King Lear

Cort Theatre

April 23, 2019

Photo courtesy of King Lear

I spent Shakespeare’s birthday watching Glenda Jackson perform the role of King Lear on Broadway.  It could not have been a better celebration.  Director Sam Gold brings the text to the forefront as he guides each actor to a deep understanding of what drives their character’s actions.  His casting is impeccable.  His grasp of effective timing is flawless.  The original music by Philip Glass enhances the build of action and calms the conflict, intensifying the emotional impact and pace of the production.  Glenda Jackson is majestic in her complex portrayal of the King. 

King Lear (played by Glenda Jackson) decides to split his kingdom among his three daughters.  Before he does, he asks each one to profess their love for him.  Goneril, the eldest (played by Elizabeth Marvel), is gracious and respectful.  Regan, the second daughter (played by Aisling O’Sullivan), poetically exceeds her sister’s pronouncements.  The youngest and favorite daughter, Cordelia (played by Ruth Wilson), is appalled by the insincere performances of her sisters, and answers truthfully and glibly.  This hurts and infuriates the King.  He disowns Cordelia and splits his kingdom in two among his ostensibly loyal and loving daughters.  The Earl of Kent (played by John Douglas Thompson) comes to Cordelia’s defense, and is immediately banished by the King.  Meanwhile, Edgar (played by Sean Carvajal) is planning on betraying his illegitimate brother, Edmond (played by Pedro Pascal) to remove him from the graces of their father, the Earl of Gloucester (played by Jayne Houdyshell).  The power struggle accelerates to full out war within the family, ending in devastating tragedy.

Glenda Jackson as King Lear
Photo courtesy of King Lear

The most dramatic and powerful scene is the blinding of the Earl of Gloucester by the Duke of Cornwall, Regan’s husband.  Aisling O’Sullivan drives this scene with fear and desperation, as her husband, played by Russell Harvard, pushes the action forward.  The scene is brutal and viscerally engaging.

One brilliant decision in double casting is that Ruth Wilson is playing both Cordelia and King Lear’s Fool.  Her vocal and physical characterizations in the contrasting roles are distinct and strong.  At one point she removes the wig she wears as the Fool.  It’s as if Cordelia is there with the King in his time of need when his other two daughters abandon and betray him.  This simple gesture speaks volumes to Shakespeare’s multi-layered theme of complicated family dynamic.

Ruth Wilson & Glenda Jackson
Photo courtesy of King Lear

The love triangle between Regan, Edgar, and Goneril is physically and sexually driven.  It feeds on the hunger for power these characters possess, which propels their action to their devastating downfall.  The battle that takes place between France and Albany as a result is simply and effectively staged.

King Lear is playing at the Cort Theatre through July 7.  Sam Gold has done an amazing job bringing Shakespeare’s themes to significant impact.  The entire cast is brilliant and powerful.  Glenda Jackson is magnificent.  Jayne Houdyshell is outstanding.  Get a ticket and see it for yourself.  

Domenick Danza

King Lear

King Lear

Royal Shakespeare Company

BAM Harvey Theatre

April 7, 2018

Photo courtesy of Brooklyn Academy of Music
& Royal Shakespeare Company

The Royal Shakespeare Company’s production of King Lear, now playing at Brooklyn Academy of Music, is not to be missed.  This phenomenal company of actors, under the direction of Gregory Doran, boldly tells this tragic tale of family loyalty and personal honor.  The events are clearly woven and build to a sweeping and passionate conclusion.  The set and costume design by Niki Turner is dark and majestic.  It satiates the expansive space of BAM’s Harvey Theatre with stark and stunning, emotion-filled shapes and images.

King Lear (played by Antony Sher) decides to divide his kingdom and distribute it to his three

Antony Sher as King Lear
Photo courtesy of Brooklyn Academy of Music
& Royal Shakespeare Company

daughters.  He first asks each of them to declare their love for him.  His eldest daughter, Goneril (played by Nia Gwynne) glibly professes words of loyalty and devotion.  His second daughter, Regan (played by Kelly Williams) cunningly tops her sister’s proclamation.  His youngest and favorite daughter, Cordelia (played by Mimi Ndiweni), seeing through the veil in her sisters’ sentiments, does not reply.  This breaks the heart of the king.  He immediately disowns her, sharing his kingdom between his two “loyal” daughters.  When the Earl of Kent (played by Antony Byrne) speaks in defense of Cordelia, he is banished.  Meanwhile, Edmund (played by Paapa Essiedu), the illegitimate son of the Earl of Gloucester (played by David Troughton), is plotting against his father and half-brother, Edgar (played by Oliver Johnstone).  When Goneril and Regan turn their backs on King Lear, he leaves the court out of contempt to them both.  While on his journey, he descends into madness as he faces his sadness, flaws, and wrong doings.  Edmund joins Goneril and Regan to gain power over the kingdom, as Cordelia finds her father and tries to nurse him back to health.  Unfortunately, they are all too steeped in dishonor to be redeemed.

Photo courtesy of Brooklyn Academy of Music

In King Lear William Shakespeare launches a highly complex plot with varieties and layers of family betrayal.  The play clearly illustrates powerful themes of how love and loyalty are deeper than mere words and trifling action.  The older characters (Lear and Gloucester) are easily swayed by declarations of loyalty from their children and followers.  Their dependents (Goneril, Regan, and Edgar) know how to manipulate this need to gain favor and power from their superiors.  The younger characters (Cordelia and Edmund) do not partake in duplicitous gesture, yet stand on their own integrity and speak from their hearts.  These family stories of love and betrayal are timeless and, although told through royalty, universal.  The fall from grace in the royal family makes the tragedy highly dramatic, but no less poignant.

This production is magnificently conceived and superbly delivered.  King Lear is playing at the BAM Harvey Theatre through April 29.  Go see it!

Domenick Danza