Wyndham’s Theatre – until 9th December 2023
Reviewed by Amarjeet Singh
3***
King Lear is a brutal play, filled with human savagery, unwise choices and misplaced trust which unfolds into widespread tragic events. Shakespearean legend, Kenneth Branagh directs and plays the title role in this whistlestop production, which runs straight through at just under two hours due to its heavily stripped text. The result of which robs the audience of its gravitas. There is not enough time to explore the chaos and cruelty, to develop and understand its crucial family and political dynamics and to ultimately realise the journey Lear embarks upon with those around him and most importantly with himself, rendering the conclusion confusing and cold.
There is no doubt that Branagh is a behemoth of an actor, and although he commanded the stage with majesty and was a delight to behold, however, unfortunately, his presentation of Lear was lacking. I fear this was because of the pace and the prose. He swung between extremes of emotion without fully embodying and exploring Lear’s drives and depths. It almost felt like I was witnessing Shakespearean speed dating, where I was getting Branagh’s best moves, impressing but not emoting. He was far better at capturing comedic moments, and thus had the audience laughing at some inappropriate moments, which jarred a little as Lear is essentially a tragedy.
Set in a very ancient, neolithic period of Britain, the cast swathed in furs, carrying sticks, stones, spears, designer Jon Bausor had set the action amidst great rugged stones that bring to mind Stonehenge. These expanded and contracted, had projections imposed upon them, of waves, faces, eyes and horses. Above was an orb, over which Nina Dunn’s projections and Paul Keogan’s lighting set changing skies, birds, the milky way and planets. There are 2 moments of complete blackout to perfectly accentuate key moments. All converged to create an atmospheric staging for King Lear.
Mara Allen as Curan was excellent. Corey Mylchreest is brilliant as Edmund, villain to the virtuous Doug Colling’s Edgar. Deborah Alli’s and Melanie-Joyce Bermdez as Goneril and Regan respectively were superb. Jessica Revell played the dual role of Cordelia and Fool wonderfully. Joseph Kloska as Gloucester deserves a special mention for his tremendous performance. The cast as a whole came together to do the best they could with the sad desecration of the play. Ultimately this production of King Lear has all the elements which ought to make it a sure-fire hit, but without the time to grow, to allow the tale to unfold, it’s a bit of a miss.