// Archives

The Donmar King Lear

I genuinely don’t know how excited I am about this – Michael Grandage is directing Derek Jacobi in King Lear at the Donmar, opening in December. I’ve enjoyed the three Grandage productions I’ve seen, but they have all been rather safe, which is the same reaction I’ve had to Jacobi’s performances in the past. Still, …

King Lear (RSC) @ The Courtyard Theatre

Writing about web page http://www.rsc.org.uk/whatson/8954.aspx The last time the RSC produced King Lear at the Courtyard Theatre, it was one of the most high-profile theatrical events of the decade. Directed by Trevor Nunn and starring Ian McKellen, it was the climax of the Complete Works Festival as well as going on to generate an international …

King Lear (Headlong) @ The Everyman Theatre

Writing about web page http://www.everymanplayhouse.co.uk/whats-on/show-detail.asp?id=219 Rupert Goold’s new production of King Lear is a particularly major event for the Liverpool Everyman Theatre, the small repertory theatre with a longstanding reputation for excellence. One of the central events of Liverpool’s year as European Capital of Culture, the production brings together one of the nation’s most prominent …

King Lear : The Movie

Any new film version of a Shakespeare play is always welcome, but this announcement from the Guardian sounds particularly interesting: The Oscar-winning actor Anthony Hopkins is to play King Lear in a new film version of the Shakespeare tragedy, it was confirmed today. The film will feature Gwyneth Paltrow, Naomi Watts and Keira Knightley as …

King Lear @ Shakespeare’s Globe

Putting on a tragedy at the Globe is a substantial challenge. The space, open to the elements and with much of the audience standing only feet away from the actors, invites laughter and participation rather than sober reflection or sadness. It is testament to the strengths of Artistic Director Dominic Dromgoole and his team, then, …

King Lear (RSC) @ The New London Theatre

Trevor Nunn’s King Lear has been a thorn in my side for several months now. I saw it very early on in its initial run in Stratford and loved it, as my review clearly showed. Since then, however, the production has had a very strange reception. Frances Barber suffered an accident, causing the press night …

King Lear (RSC) @ The Courtyard Theatre

I don’t wish to come across as unprofessional, but this is going to be a very difficult review to write. Last night I sat in the front row for Trevor Nunn’s ‘King Lear’, and I still don’t feel as if I’ve entirely recovered. It was theatre as I’ve rarely experienced it- theatre that reaches inside …

Old friends: Richard Goulding and John Heffernan

One of the satisfying things about seeing the entire Complete Works has been the opportunity to see actors – often in the smaller parts- returning to the stage again and again, excelling in parts and coming to audience’s attentions. Rob Carroll is a good example- a bit player in the ‘Antony’/’Caesar’/’Tempest’ company, who got to …

King Lear (Yellow Earth) @ The Cube

The final production of the month-long Cube season was the first of this year’s two ‘King Lear’s. Hi-tec and set in the near future (2020), this production translated Lear’s kingdom to the global business world, with Lear as a Shanghai CEO passing on the reins of the company to his three daughters. A collaboration between …