Synopsis King Lear divides his Kingdom between his daughters according to a declaration of their love for him. His eldest Goneril and Regan exaggerate their affection and inherit. His youngest daughter Cordelia speaks only the truth and is banished. So begins the tragedy of King Lear, whose dignity, sanity and finally life are torn from him by a self-seeking younger generation, ambitious for his power. What is love, what is madness, what is truth - Shakespeare explores these questions together with many others in King Lear, widely considered to be his greatest tragedy. Oct 14 2010 - NT Live Broadcast to cinemas in 22 countries
Derek Jacobi has finally made good on his promise to tackle King Lear, opening in Michael Grandage's Donmar Warehouse production last night (7 December 2010, previews from 3 December).
Jacobi and Grandage have enjoyed a fruitful working relationship over the years, with their classic collaborations including The Tempest and Don Carlos, both of which transferred to the West End following runs at Sheffield Crucible, and more recently the Donmar West End production of Twelfth Night at Wyndham's, for which Jacobi won an Olivier for his performance as Malvolio.
"The compact Donmar stage might seem constricting for an epic tragedy such as this but Michael Grandage's production gets straight to the heart of the fragility of familial relationships ... Jacobi's Lear is a man of camp, capriciousness whose mood shifts from sunny levity to a darker disposition ... The production is blessed with strong performances from Gina McKee and Justine Mitchell... And Pippa Bennett-Warner is a touching Cordelia too. There are good performances too from Newman and Gwilym Lee as the warring brothers, a solid Gloucester from Paul Jesson and a touchingly sad, white-faced fool from Ron Cook, effortlessly swapping gags with his master. We have been waiting some time for Jacobi's Lear and he doesn't wholly disappoint but we do lose some of the full horror of his descent to madness ... What Jacobi does capture perfectly is how fragile are the bonds that hold families together and how quickly they can be rent asunder. This is a rapid Lear... and Grandage's clear and uncluttered production ... What's missing is some of the political dimension that presents crumbling England but Jacobi's wise-cracking, fragile and ultimately human Lear is a compelling presence."
Libby Purves The Times ★★★★★
“As the King lies dead, his old heart broken, beside the body of the hanged Cordelia there falls a deep, appalled silence … This final scene is the distilled essence of despair, and in the Donmar's intimate space we share it. All is quiet after the deafening offstage sounds of storm and battle and the three hours' thud of running feet and rage … Sir Derek Jacobi is over 70: this, under the director Michael Grandage, is his first Lear and it is a privilege to see it. He brings it everything, technically and emotionally: and on top of that an extraordinary physical vigour. Only in the final scenes is he frail. Striding in from hunting, laying about him with a crop, uttering his demands, the greybeard is not short of energy, nor particularly attractive. He first becomes lovable in his almost paternal scenes with the Fool: a touching, deadpan Northerner as played by Ron Cook … I have never liked a Fool so much … One oddity, perhaps, of the director's vision is that Goneril and Regan take longer than usual to show any viciousness.”
"The miracle of Michael Grandage's production is that it is fast (under three hours), vivid, clear and, thanks to a performance that reminds us why Derek Jacobi is a great classical actor, overwhelmingly moving ... Christopher Oram's set consists of paint-dappled wooden boards that turn the Donmar into a stockade ... But it is Jacobi's Lear that drives the production. And what is truly astonishing is the way he combines Lear's spiritual trajectory from blind arrogance to impotent wisdom with a sense of the character's tumultuous contradictions ... Jacobi quickly unleashes a monumental fury ... Jacobi's special quality... has always been his ability to forge a bond of sympathy with the audience: one thinks of his Cyrano, Peer Gynt or Philip II ... He is quite superb in the central mad scenes ... What also marks out Jacobi's performance is a sense of life's circularity. His features, through the alchemy of acting, seem to acquire in the final scenes an infant-like luminosity ... And there is intelligent support all round. Gina McKee's calculating Goneril is excellently contrasted with Justine Mitchell's manic Regan, driven into gleeful hysteria by the blinding of Paul Jesson's credulous Gloucester. Alec Newman's wickedly self-willed Edmund is also ideally offset by the transformative virtue of Gwilym Lee's Edgar. And Ron Cook's Fool is as remarkable in his silences, when he gazes on Lear with powerless compassion, as in his rebarbative, conscience-stabbing jests."
"Michael Grandage's production proves outstanding, the finest and most searching Lear I have ever seen, and in this small space it often achieves a shattering power … Christopher Oram's characteristically simple design, brilliantly lit by Neil Austin, consists of nothing more than whitewashed planks. There is no attempt to evoke a particular time and place. The play itself is allowed to conjure its own world through the power of Shakespeare's words and the strength and detail of the performances … Derek Jacobi's Lear is initially a testy, self-indulgent old man with a pink face, silver hair and a touch of camp about him … Jacobi, enjoying a blaze of autumnal glory as an actor, captures the full depth and breadth of the character … At less than three hours, this Lear hurtles along and you emerge feeling shaken, deeply moved and curiously uplifted - the infallible signs of a great tragic production.”
"Jacobi conveys his descent in exquisite detail, striking the right notes of exaggerated pomp, wounded majesty, paternal indignation and, as his tyranny turns to self-knowledge, a blighted, ordinary humanity ... In Grandage’s conception, the emphasis is on emotions rather than politics. The production has a wintry aesthetic, and Christopher Oram’s austere set of rough boards allows us to focus on Jacobi’s Lear. As his tragedy unfurls, he learns to dispense tenderness, but gets there via fierceness and fury, and the degree of violence that reverberates through Jacobi’s performance is crucial to the production ... When Gloucester (Paul Jesson) is blinded, the scene is shockingly bloody ... There’s potent support from Gina McKee ... Pippa Bennett-Warner is affecting as her benign sister Cordelia, Justine Mitchell contrastingly twitchy as malign Regan. Ron Cook’s Fool is a joyless joker whose commentary on Lear’s decline is mordant. Also impressive are Alec Newman ... and Michael Hadley’s gruffly sensible Earl of Kent ... It’s emotionally satisfying, and — as if one needed reminding — shows that Jacobi is an actor of rare technical skill and integrity."
Quentin Letts Daily Mail ★★★★
"Derek Jacobi produces an artful Lear, more believable than most ... This Lear ends in a grizzled, infantilised state ... Michael Grandage's production is staged in a Donmar which has had its walls and floorboards painted with a distressed white wash ... I rather approved of Miss Bennett-Warner's casting, and not just because she speaks beautifully. That eloquence is not shared by all the younger actors. Gideon Turner is indistinct as the Duke of Cornwall. Amit Shah's Oswald seems to have sashayed off the set of a television soap opera ... The high point of Sir Derek's performance is Lear's scene in the storm - 'you cataracts and hurricanoes' - which director Grandage brilliantly has him deliver in a sudden whisper. We are being taken into Lear's inner ear. I loved this touch. What a relief not to have that speech belted out over the din of wind machines, as so often happens.
The compact Donmar stage might seem constricting for an epic tragedy such as this but Michael Grandage’s production gets straight to the heart of the fragility of familial relationships.
The opening scene is played almost as parlour game as Derek Jacobi's king, asks his daughters for their proclamations of love almost as an afterthought and laughing at her answer of nothing. Kent's lays out a giggle too, as if it's a moment of levity. How quickly the mood changes: Jacobi's Lear is a man of camp, capriciousness whose mood shifts from sunny levity to a darker disposition. The “blow winds and crack your cheeks” speech is delivered in a hushed monotone, eyes firmly closed as if it were an incantation.
The production is blessed with strong performances from Gina McKee and Justine Mitchell as Goneril and Regan. McKee particularly is a smouldering presence, eyeing Alec Newman's Edmund from the opening scene right: this is a compelling mixture of sexiness and villainy. Mitchell’s Regan’s mask of courtliness slips when she lets out a wild whoop at the prospect of blinding Gloucester; a choice pair of sisters these. And Pippa Bennett-Warner is a touching Cordelia too.
There are good performances too from Newman and Gwilym Lee as the warring brothers, a solid Gloucester from Paul Jesson and a touchingly sad, white-faced fool from Ron Cook, effortlessly swapping gags with his master. We have been waiting some time for Jacobi's Lear and he doesn't wholly disappoint but we do lose some of the full horror of his descent to madness – but then, where does eccentricity end and madness begin? What Jacobi does capture perfectly is how fragile are the bonds that hold families together and how quickly they can be rent asunder.
This is a rapid Lear – coming it and under three hours – and Grandage’s clear and uncluttered production, coupled with Christopher Oram’s simple bare-boarded set, gets straight to the heart of the tragedy. What’s missing is some of the political dimension that presents crumbling England but Jacobi’s wise-cracking, fragile and ultimately human Lear is a compelling presence.
Saw this at Milton Keynes last night. It was my third Lear. Thought Derek Jacobi's towering Lear was superb and Gradage's direction great but, alas, am at a bit of a loss as to know how critics could think the rest of the cast were also superb. I thought Paul Jesson's Gloucester was very weak and didn't compare in any way shape or form to David Bradley's brilliant portrayal of the same role in the 1993/94 RSC production. I was also was immensely disappointed in Gina McKee's performance as Goneril. She seemed to be playing "Shakespeare by numbers." At times I even found it hard to hear what she was saying. Alec Newman as Edmund could also do with working on the old adage that sometimes, less, is more....
Glad I got to see the masterful Jacobi in what must be the greatest of Shakespearean roles. Was just so sorry to have left the theatre feeling distinctly underwhelmed. Maybe the production just didn't transfer well from the intimacy of the Donmar to a larger theatre. - Claire Wilson
20 Mar 11
Maybe you had to be there, but I saw the simulcast with a group of about 20 others last night, and we were all underwhelmed. On the screen, the spotty walls and floor were - as one man said - like "German expressionist torture," and this was NOT the definitive Lear or anything like it. The cast was competent, but no performance or moment really stood out as something I'd pay to see again. I like Jacobi very much and have seen him do brilliant things, but his Lear simply didn't move me. I never forgot I was watching actors, and there should be at least a few moments in a great play where you do get swept up in it. I really was quite astonished that this was announced - as part of the simulcast - as being probably the "greatest Lear of all time." Well, nothing could live up to that hype, but it didn't even live up to the three or four other performances I have seen personally. - Peggy
25 Feb 11
I count myself privileged, & I don't use the word lightly,to have attended a live transmission in a cinema of this production last week.I know the play well (in so far as you can ever know a Shakespeare play well) & have seen most London & RSC productions since the 1970s...also the Olivier TV & the 2 film versions (Paul Scofield/Peter Brook & the excellent Russian version with music by Shostakovich).There will never be a definitive "Lear",of course, but I would rate this among the very highest...only Ian Holm's performance at the NT some years ago would join it.The cast was practically faultless in my opinion & combined with a straightforward ungimmicky production letting the actors,through the words,get on with the darkest & finest tragedy in the English language....what more can be said?I hope to goodness someone has videod it for DVD release...er...without the technical hitch caused by the satellite signal breakdown!! - John
08 Feb 11
A truly mesmorizing performance by Jacobi and superb support from the ensemble. This is a perfect production of lear; the lack of stage adornments allows the production to flow and the swelling musicality of the interweaving scenes to be fully realised. This Lear must be seen. - James H
14 Jan 11
Bloody families…..A King Lear that comes in at under 3 hours! I have to confess, I can’t see where the cuts are and it makes a big difference to the pacing – this Lear races along. It’s a difficult play for me because I find it hard to understand why Lear rejects Cordelia and don’t find the subsequent relationship breakdown with the other daughters entirely plausible, but it’s still a fascinating and complex play. The Donmar has planks covering the floor, ceiling and all four sides; they’re a distressed white, though it doesn’t take long before there’s blood on the walls – literally (well, stage blood). The only props are the map and a chair; the costumes are excellent. Michael Grandage’s staging and Christopher Oram’s design allow the drama to unfold and the verse to breathe. This is an exceptionally well cast production. I was particularly impressed by all three Gloucesters – Paul Jesson’s believable journey as the Duke, Alec Newman’s positively evil Edmund and Gwilym Lee’s sympathetic Edgar. The daughters – Gina McKee as Goneril , Justine Mitchell’s Regan and Pippa Bennett-Warner as Cordelia – took a while to get into their stride but in the second half McKee and Mitchell were appropriately vituperative. I think Derek Jacobi is my 7th Lear – an illustrious list that includes Anthony Hopkins, Robert Stephens, Brian Cox, Ian Holm, Ian McKellen & Pete Postlethwaite – and I’ve liked them all. He’s particularly good at anger – going bright red, croaking and breathless – and grief, but less convincing in the early scenes of madness. I still haven’t forgiven the Donmar for abandoning the performance one week earlier just 15 minutes into a power cut and then offering no alternative. I owe my second chance to a friend, who knew of my disappointment when offered her cousin’s spare ticket. - Gareth James
12 Jan 11
WOS get it right, the one star here was for another play! This Lear was competent. Gina McKee glided through it all as if she had mistaken the Valium jar for the Smartie jar. I love her to bits but she was out of place in this as was Regan, Justin Mitchell, whose voice was so weak I wasn't sure if she had a problem with it or that she is not cut out for stage work and this in the tiny Donmar. Jacobi did his stuff well enough, but more the bossy head teacher filling in than a truly affecting Lear. I was lucky enough to see Pete Postlethwaite at the Young Vic not so long ago - a definitive Lear if ever there was one. I can't imagine why this production is getting such good write ups? Never mind there's always a next time. - rds.
08 Jan 11
Michael Grandage has used the intimacy of a bare Donmar stage to strip away all the grandiose statecraft of Trevor Nunn's RSC production to focus on the series of family tragedies which are at the heart of King Lear. The lack of a clearer political context slightly confuses the sudden transformation of Regan and Goneril into vicious haridans seeking the death of their father and they are given unusually understated performances by Gina McKee and Justine Mitchell. However, this is a beautifully clear and sensitive production with a staggering performance from Derek Jacobi as Lear. He plays him as a man who is aware of his self-inflicted loneliness and descent into madness and gives a pitiful and unusually pitiable Lear and we share his harrowing grief at the loss of Cordelia. However, Jacobi is one of those eccentrics who believe that a grammar school boy from Stratford could not possibly have written such great plays. By the same token it could be argued that a state school boy from the East End could not possibly find the level of insight to give such a memorable performance. On the way home it struck me that if I have around 20 years of active theatre-going left I may never see a better production of one of the greatest plays in the English language. - David Baxter
Re-opened in 1992. Seats 254. 1999 - Ambassador Theatre Group takes over from the Associated Capital Theatres as the landlord of the Donmar Warehouse. 2002 - Michael Grandage succeeds Sam Mendes as Artistic Director of the Donmar. Nick Frankfort succeeds Caro Newling as Executive Producer.
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