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The Royal Shakespeare Company is staging King Lear staring Sir Ian McKellen and directed by Sir Trevor Nunn.
For the past year the Royal Shakespeare Company has been staging all Shakespeare's plays in an ambitious season that paves the way for the big rebuilding of its theatre in Stratford upon Avon, an important milestone in the company's history.
The season has reached its climax with a production of King Lear directed by Sir Trevor Nunn and starring Sir Ian McKellen, playing Lear for the first time in his long career. The play will tour the world, alongside a production of Anton Chekov’s The Seagull. The Today Programme has had unprecedented access to this remarkable theatrical event, following the production from rehearsal to the stage.
The beginning
In his first report, James Naughtie visited the company at their London rehearsal rooms back in January.
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The mist
In part two, Jim returns to London six weeks later, as Sir Ian prepared to take his Lear out of the rehearsal room and onto a stage. He found him still working hard on the character of the tragic King - and still wondering when he would feel ready.
LISTEN – Jim’s second report
The summit
The play has opened, and Sir Ian and Sir Trevor reflect on what they’ve learnt from this production and why King Lear still matters to modern audiences.
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Extras
There’s not always time to broadcast all of the interviews we conduct for the programme, and in this case there were many fascinating insights that simply could not fit into Jim’s broadcast reports. Here’s a chance to hear some of the interviews in full.
Sir Ian tells us why he’ll never play Falstaff and discusses Lear’s seeming obsession with sex.
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Sir Trevor discusses his earlier attempts at King Lear, how he helps the cast get to grips with Shakespeare’s language and expands on his vision for the play.
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Sir Antony Sher – whose book Year of the King chronicled his attempts to capture a major Shakespearean role – talks about the difficulty of making a classic your own.
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Getting there …
Sir Ian claims to be still at sea when we next meet him – but he knows the character is in him, ready to come out. Listen to how he makes the transition from an intellectual appreciation of the play to a practical approach to performing it.
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… and in conclusion
“He keeps developing ...” Sir Ian explains why no two performances of his King Lear will be the same – and how the character will continue to grow over the next year. Oh yes, and what Gandalf would make of his on-stage nudity.
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Sir Trevor discusses how his conception of the play changed during the rehearsal and preview process, and indeed in the 30 years since he last directed it, and considers the coldness of Shakespeare’s universe – as perhaps something Samuel Beckett would have recognised.
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