As Act One’s latest production of
King Lear was advertised as “a
dramatic re-telling of one of Shakespeare’s greatest tragedies”, I was sure it
would have been rewritten in modern English, and was pleasantly surprised to
instead find that directors Madison Fowler and Piers Horner, with their
talented cast and crew, succeeded in their mission to create an engaging Lear for the twenty-first century whilst
remaining faithful to Shakespeare’s play.
The idea behind the production
was to “bring Lear to a wider
audience by heightening the violence and raw power of the text”, updating the
story from pre-Roman England to a post-apocalyptic wasteland, where Lear is the
leader of a gang of survivors and Gloucester an ex-policeman struggling to
adapt to the new world. This background is set out for us in the programme
which sadly suggests that the Daily Mail
survives the end of civilisation, and brought to life though Mikey Boyle’s minimum
yet highly effective set design covered with graffiti including a Banksy-esque
Grim Reaper. The nightmarish setting is further enhanced by music composed
especially for the production by Nick Cotton (@fblockisadj), a dark mixture of
classical and techno that perfectly suited the oppressive mood of the piece.
Given the description in the
advertising and the ‘strictly over 18s’ rating, I expected a truly graphic
production and Act One did not disappoint. The performance began with the very
violent murder of Lear’s eldest son and continued with similar scenes dotted throughout the production which made it seem more immediate and gripping. Act
One have certainly been taking their stage fighting classes seriously. However,
what should have been the most harrowing scene, the gouging of Gloucester’s
eyes, instead was messy and distant because of the decision to pre-film the
scene and project it onto the stage. While I understand it would be difficult
to make this scene work well live, the projection seemed out of place and
distracting from the raw power of the rest of the production.
As for the acting, it was generally
quite good, but a bit of a mixed bag. A special mention has to be made for
Ellie Hepworth playing the Fool who had to spend half an hour on stage alone
keeping in character as we took our seats; it was a tough ask and she dealt
with it commendably. The central performance of the play, James Davies in the
title role, was strong. He rendered Lear’s descent from powerful leader to
madman with sensitivity and subtlety. Lawrence Dixon’s rapper inspired
portrayal of Edmund was a particular highlight. It could have been an annoying
gimmick but actually really worked and suited the scheming and unhinged
character perfectly. As his half-brother
Edgar, Oliver Ferriman was also very impressive. He combined extreme physicality (there seems
to be an Act One tradition following the Panto that every production this year
must have at least one almost naked male lead) with a genuinely moving
performance. Dom Gwyther, as their father Gloucester, gave a very natural,
engaging performance, which is sadly more than I can say for some of the other
parts. For me the sign of a good actor is when you forget they have a script
and it seems the words they are using are their own. Unfortunately, some of the
cast fell into the usual trap when performing Shakespeare of thinking that
shouting will make the words make more sense instead of really engaging with
them, whereas others were competent but just lacking that essential spark.
On the whole, Act One produced an
engrossing vision of King Lear, thanks
to impressive central performances, set-design and music. Their desire to draw
in a new audience to Shakespeare by bringing out the violence and the passion
of the play was a clear success, as audience members delightedly professed that
the production had made them understand and enjoy this complex play for the
first time. I look forward to seeing what they do with Measure for Measure in March.
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