Reviews

If I’d been asked to write publicity for ‘Lear’, I might have written “Makes Sweeney Todd look like a vicarage tea party.” Like most publicity, that would be an exaggeration but it would not be wide of the mark. ‘Lear’ is the most relentlessly violent play that I have seen: eyes are gouged out, knitting needles are shoved down ears, and rape and murder are the order of the day. The audience squirmed as Lear covered himself with his dead daughter’s intestines. Often when there is extreme violence in a play, audiences laugh uncomfortably or regard it as ridiculous. The acting by final year students for this LIPA production was so good that the audience was appalled, which was what the author intended.

And the author was not William Shakespeare. This was a rewriting of Shakespeare’s play by the political playwright Edward Bond, which was first produced in the West End in 1971. It is an extremely difficult to play to stage involving many scene changes, a large cast and very intense acting, and it is by no means audience-friendly. There are no characters with whom an audience could sympathise and the whole play is about conflict. Much of Shakespeare’s play is determining whether Lear is mad, but here everybody is mad. ‘Lear’ is a savage attack upon war by Edward Bond and unlike Shakespeare’s play, Lear is an evil king who comes to realise that war is not the answer and that there is no excuse for one human being killing another. Despite being far too young for the role, Lear was brilliantly played by Endre Haukland and he must have felt totally drained after his mesmerising performance. He has star quality and is going to go far.

Everything about this production was right – the bleak set with the wall that Lear had built to keep his enemies out; the costumes which, like many Shakespearean productions these days, spanned the centuries; the make-up with a remarkable gothic look for the Gravedigger’s son; and the foreboding music. The whole creative team deserve plaudits for their efforts and this brutal, gruesome production was all held together by the director, Max Rubin.

The play also suggests that there is not much hope for family life as the relationships between Lear and his three daughters count for nothing in their lust for power and victory. The most evil of Lear’s daughters, Bodice, was played very powerfully by Kate Ivory, while Emma David as the torture-loving Fontanelle had a childlike naïveté about her, making it a very tricky role. After they have died, Ingrid Windsland, as the more manipulative and military minded third daughter, Cordelia wins the day. Lear rejects his children, but who could blame him?

Edward Bond brought out the political content of ‘King Lear’ but I wondered about some of his premises: was victory, for example, bad for soldiers because it lowered their morale? I doubt it. Also, I am wary of plots that rely on coincidences and ‘Lear’, like ‘King Lear’, has too many for my liking. This was a very disturbing and gruesome evening. I wouldn’t exactly call it entertainment, but I greatly admired the production and the skills of the cast. They knew what they wanted to achieve and they achieved it.