Never, never, never...

Remind me not to see Lear again. Nasty, brutish and long. I did already know that, but this production was by Yaël Farber whom I admire (Amajuba, Sezar, Les Blancs (but not Salomé)) and I wanted to see how she'd do it. Brilliantly: powerful, painful, visceral. Enough, now.

I've never studied it but long, long ago I was entranced by a small local production with a shockingly graphic eye scene and real 'rain' falling from the ceiling and splashing onto those in the first row.  At the other end of the scale I saw Trevor Nunn's RSC production in 2007 where McKellen gave a mesmerising and completely convincing portrayal of mental imbalance: hubris metamorphosing into trauma and anguish.

Yaël Farber's production is superb. It was good to see it in a small theatre where there was no escaping the intensity of emotion or violence. It was fascinating to see the characters close up as they gradually become themselves out of the initial scene where (almost) everyone is trying to impress and be admired.

I loved the live music, with a piano often on stage and two violinists sometimes hidden and sometimes acting minor roles. The set was excellent - the long, fine hanging chains of the backdrop could be regal when still but swirled and raged in the storm. They also allowed very flexible entrances and exits. There was never much colour but the staging became more monochrome throughout and the costumes disintegrated as the characters did.

I do not need to see this play again.


Good review here.