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smallhobbitFollowing our seeing what we now refer to as "The Muppets do King Lear" last year, I had been determined to take SM to see a decent version. So, when the RSC announced this was to be one of their autumn season I suggested we go. I was further encouraged by seeing David Troughton would be playing Gloucester.
We again chose the day when we could see Shakespeare Unwrapped in the morning. This was another introducing some of the ideas behind the choice of direction. This time we saw part of a scene acted out by Byron Mondahl (Lear's understudy) together with the actresses playing Goneril and Cordelia - Regan was played by an audience member, due to the actress being unwell and very reasonably wishing to conserve her energy for the afternoon performance. It was extremely interesting seeing how the scene was put together, and both SM and I agreed we would have liked to see Mondahl in the understudy performance.
As for the play itself, Antony Sher is cast as Lear, and to my mind the production has been shaped round him. Which, for such an ensemble cast, is a bit of a shame. There was some dramatic staging, serving to emphasise Lear's importance, but I felt it would have been better had the actor done that unassisted. There was nothing wrong with the production, it just didn't quite grab me in the way I was perhaps expecting, and at times felt a little like Lear by Numbers.
I had already seen quite a number of the cast, both in Hamlet and in Cymberline. Paapa Essiedu (Hamlet) played Edmund and Natalie Simpson (Ophelia) was Cordelia and both impressed as they had done before.
The scene which worked best for me (and was highlighted in a number of the reviews I have now read) was where Lear, having wandered round in his crown of herbs, comforts the blinded Gloucester. It felt as if Lear no longer had to impress anyone, but also, to me, that the actor was at this point not feeling threatened by the up-and-coming talent.
An interesting afternoon, but not one of the best Lears I have seen. Strangely enough, this week's prompt for DW's drabble_zone was 'An Unreasonable Expectation' which gave me the perfect opportunity to write Cornwall Considers.
We broke our journey on the way home in Tewkesbury, so we could go to the Tewkesbury Camerata concert in the evening, and therefore went from King Lear to The Three Bears and Harry Potter.
We again chose the day when we could see Shakespeare Unwrapped in the morning. This was another introducing some of the ideas behind the choice of direction. This time we saw part of a scene acted out by Byron Mondahl (Lear's understudy) together with the actresses playing Goneril and Cordelia - Regan was played by an audience member, due to the actress being unwell and very reasonably wishing to conserve her energy for the afternoon performance. It was extremely interesting seeing how the scene was put together, and both SM and I agreed we would have liked to see Mondahl in the understudy performance.
As for the play itself, Antony Sher is cast as Lear, and to my mind the production has been shaped round him. Which, for such an ensemble cast, is a bit of a shame. There was some dramatic staging, serving to emphasise Lear's importance, but I felt it would have been better had the actor done that unassisted. There was nothing wrong with the production, it just didn't quite grab me in the way I was perhaps expecting, and at times felt a little like Lear by Numbers.
I had already seen quite a number of the cast, both in Hamlet and in Cymberline. Paapa Essiedu (Hamlet) played Edmund and Natalie Simpson (Ophelia) was Cordelia and both impressed as they had done before.
The scene which worked best for me (and was highlighted in a number of the reviews I have now read) was where Lear, having wandered round in his crown of herbs, comforts the blinded Gloucester. It felt as if Lear no longer had to impress anyone, but also, to me, that the actor was at this point not feeling threatened by the up-and-coming talent.
An interesting afternoon, but not one of the best Lears I have seen. Strangely enough, this week's prompt for DW's drabble_zone was 'An Unreasonable Expectation' which gave me the perfect opportunity to write Cornwall Considers.
We broke our journey on the way home in Tewkesbury, so we could go to the Tewkesbury Camerata concert in the evening, and therefore went from King Lear to The Three Bears and Harry Potter.
