Lear
2007-07-20 at 12:24 a.m.
Just got back from watching the Royal Shakespeare Company's absolutely fantastic performance of King Lear. Am still in a state of completely-blown-away, even as i sit here and type this.
Ian McKellen's Lear was absolutely fanstastic, developing the character along a gentle arc from aged imperiousness to over-the-edge insane, so slowly and subtly that you don't notice the change until you see Lear standing in the rain, swinging his arms about, spitting rainwater out of his mouth.
The Fool was another excellent performance, by Sylvester McCoy, lines delivered with precision comic timing, plus little winks, nudges and whistles that made all those innuendoes that much funnier.
Kent, played by Johnathan Hyde was pretty good, and for the first half of the play, had me wondering if he was really Christopher Lee—the one from the Lord of the Rings, not the Malaysian drunkard—because he has that same booming, round voice.
Ben Meyjes, who plays Edgar, didn't impress me much as Edgar, probably because Edgar isn't much of an exciting or interesting character until he becomes Poor Tom, and as Poor Tom, boy did Ben rock. and not just because he has a killer bod. i mean, a chiselled six-pack and pecs don't hurt when he spends about half his stage time naked-but-for-a-loincloth, but his capering, crouching, mad dashes and complete abandon made his Poor Tom truly great.
His evil half-brother, Edmund, played by the truly hot Philip Winchester, was also excellent. no, not just because he's so hot. he played his Edmund fantastically, all egotistical and i'm-so-sexy-i'm-so-smart-and-so-scheming, brilliant, really, the way he preened and stalked around onstage, all proud of himself.
the only one who didn't quite hit the mark for me was Cordelia, played by Romola Garai, incidentally the female lead in Dirty Dancing 2. her performance was a little awkward, and she didn't quite know how to make use of space onstage, or how to move smoothly. perhaps this is due to the fact that Lear is her RSC debut, but nonetheless, it was more than a little jarring, especially when Regan and Goneril play their parts to bitchy perfection, especially Goneril. Regan as a wine downing lush was a a little annoying, and a little funny, but interestingly enough, it worked.
this (over)analysis of the play has made me even tireder than i was when i got back, and now i don't even want to drag myself to the toilet to wash up. just want to sleeeepppp. more on the whole of today—and a mid-taxi-ride "epiphany" on the morrow.