The social order seems to be disintegrating in Yaël Farber’s strong, atmospheric production of King Lear.
The figure of Lear stands centre stage, his back to us, violins underscored with a low, unsettling soundscape holding our attention as others come to dress him in a blue suit. This is not a man used to doing things for himself.
Yet a crowd of standing mikes are set up for his announcement, which he will begin with that slight amplified echo we can sometimes hear from public speakers. He will angrily throw them all aside when Cordelia (Gloria Obianyo) fails to give him the answer he expects of her.
Surely he should have expected that. You only had to look across at her standing between her two sisters Regan (Faith Omole) and Goneril (Akiya Henry) to notice the way she dresses and the way she holds herself; she wasn't going to follow her sisters.
Like many a politician, he is out of touch with those he rules, out of touch even with conventional social expectations as he sits one of his daughters on his knee. But then he has the power not to care, until this moment, when his division of the kingdom triggers chaos, war and his own destruction.
Danny Sapani gives a powerful performance as a Lear used to being obeyed with that edge of bewilderment at things not going quite his way. When later his illusions in his other daughters fall away, we almost pity him, as shocked and exhausted he reproaches them with the simple words “I gave you all”.
Watching his desperate slide into confused exhaustion is the almost spectral figure of Clarke Peters as the Fool, commenting patiently, carefully on the action, watching Lear from the side of the stage even as the world disintegrates.
The minimalist set carries only objects that have a very specific purpose. Metal chains hang around the perimeter of the space, reminding us of the closed world that is hemming them in. The chair-sized Globe which sits on the stage at the start of the play is later dragged back onto the stage by the fool, where it burns fiercely, adding to the mist that already is clouding the performance space.
This is a production that gives prominence to all the minor characters. Edmund (Fra Fee) is charismatic, hugging his father and brother affectionately, winning the attention of two of the sisters. Edgar (Matthew Tennyson) initially seems slight and wiry but grows in stature and wisdom as he guides his blinded father Gloucester (Michael Gould) to the cliffs of Dover.
The three-hours-forty-five minute production seems to move very quickly. There are always things to watch, fine speeches delivered well, and an uncluttered focus that keeps us engaged.
There is even time for someone to finish the performance by singing some of Bob Dylan’s "A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall".
This is a very fine production reflecting the bleak troubled world we live in. I hope to see it again sometime.