 | King Lear |  |
"How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is
To have a thankless child!" Act I, scene iv
Written: 1605
Stratford Festival of Canada ; August 4, 2007 Stratford, Canada
Director : Brian Bedford ; Starring :
Reviewed on : 2007-08-05 12:51:54 ; Reviewed by : Margarete Mandry
| It has been noted that King Lear’s wish to abdicate power to his offspring and enjoy his dotage in the loving embrace of his family has far-reaching consequences that plunge the country into civil war. That being Lear’s old age is the driving force in the play. He is “four score” and some years (80’s), yet his daughter Cordelia is unmarried and therefore must be quite young. Her older sisters Goneril and Regan could be any age, but in this production are significantly older. So Cordelia could be seen as the child of his old age and takes the place of grandchildren, who always have a special bond with their grandparents. This may go some way to explain Cordelia’s lack of courtly ways and Lear’s special affection for her.
Brian Bedford’s Lear is used to the fawning adoration he enjoys as king, but is unable to distinguish between false flattery and true love, which proves his downfall. Everyone who is true is banished and what remains is only the false, which reinforces the artifice rampant at court. Bedford’s portrayal of Lear is, by turns, happy in his supremacy, vindictive, childishly spiteful and only truly humble in his madness.
Wenna Shaw’s Goneril is a strident harpy whose appetite for power is unlimited. She is the perfect court mover, manipulating all around her to get what she wants, and is most in her element in courtly intrigue. She shows affection to no one (unless it’s counterfit), not her father, nor her husband, nor her sister. She’s the perfect citadel of ambition, and it is this ambition and disloyalty that eventually leads to her downfall.
An entirely different animal is her sister Regan, portrayed by Wendy Robie. Regan and her husband Cornwall (Wayne Best at his most evil) enjoy inflicting pain, which is to them an almost sexual pleasure. The intentness with which Regan watcher her husband gouge out Gloucester’s eyes, and the single-minded vindictiveness with which Cornwall does the deed, bring to mind small nasty children plucking the wings off of insects.
In counterpart to Lear’s family is that of Gloucester (Scott Wentworth), whose bastard son Edmund lies and cheats his way to power, having his brother Edgar banished and betraying his father into the clutches of Regan and Cornwall. Dion Johnstone’s portrayal of Edmund is inspired and evil without ever going over the top. Like Goneril, Edmund is out for himself and has no loyalty to anyone, as both sisters discover for themselves, to their detriment.
While Cordelia exercises only a gently and supportive love for her father, Edgar is almost cruel in allowing his blinded father to think he has committed suicide. The despairing father, upon realizing he is still alive, is only slightly reassured to find Edgar with him. In many ways more noble than Lear, Gloucester never retreats into madness in his misery.
The Earl of Kent and the Fool are the only two, besides Cordelia, who are consistent in their affections and are never revealed to have other motives. Peter Donaldson’s Kent is particularly stable and worthy, and yet not jaded enough to despair of all mankind. The Fool (Bernard Hopkins) is likewise loyal to the end. Although he disappears entirely in Act III, he has stayed with Lear throughout the storm to the detriment of his health.
The two fathers’ tragedies echo each other, one on a grand scale and one on a humbler one. Yet Lear’s rection is a descent into madness before he dies, while Gloucester’s is resigned acceptance. With a minimalist set and the heavy and stiff costumes of the early 17th century, Bedford’s King Lear stands out in stark relief among the more cluttered productions often done of this piece.
|
|
Sir John Gilbert, R.A.,
Lear and the Fool
Reviews
|  | Everyman Theatre
July 22, 2009 |  | Theatre Project Si
November 13, 2008 |  | A Young Vic/Headlong Theatre/Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse co-production
November 5, 2008 | | Shakespeare’s Globe
June 1, 2008 |  | Royal Shakespeare Company
December 5, 2007 |  | Stratford Festival of Canada
August 4, 2007 |  | Goodman Theatre
September 19, 2006 |  | Marin Shakespeare Company
July 8, 2006 |  | Shotgun Players
May 13, 2006 |  | Actors' Shakespeare Project
October 1, 2005 |  | Piven Theatre Workshop
2001 |  | Chicago Shakespeare Theatre
2001 |  | AUN Company
2000 |  | Ninagawa Company/RSC
1999 |  | BBC
1997 |
|
>> next reviews
|
|
