★★★★

“an approachable and nothing-to-fear Lear”

Kenneth Branagh acts in and directs this welcome West End Shakespearean production. Compressed into two hours and performed without an interval, this is an approachable and nothing-to-fear Lear. When on stage, Branagh leads from the front, always at the centre with an arc of supporting characters around him. The direction is sparse, a long succession of comings and goings between characters, often carrying letters to be delivered or discovered.

An extended opening scene before any dialogue is spoken places us in ancient Britain. A dramatic tribal dance (Aletta Collins Choreographer), a Pagan ceremony perhaps, with much thumping of staffs in which King Lear (Branagh) appears dressed in animal furs, his staff held high.

The set is a visual delight (Jon Bausor set and costume designer): A semi-circle of monoliths set to the rear that morph between representations of Neolithic standing stones and Dover’s white cliffs. Above the stage is a huge astral disc. Light and projection brilliantly lifts and lowers the mood (Paul Keogan Lighting Designer, Nina Dunn Projection Designer). Darkness is used to great effect, especially in the storm scene and to represent Gloucester’s blindness.

“Allowing the text to breathe, he gives every consonant its full importance”

It is a reliable-enough performance from Branagh, whilst we may question if he acts old enough or mad enough for the role. Above everything, his Shakespearean diction is exemplary. Allowing the text to breathe, he gives every consonant its full importance. This style may no longer be to everyone’s taste but it works well here and dually provides a working lesson to the supporting cast of RADA alumni around him.

There is little time to get to know the other characters. Goneril (Deborah Alli) and Regan (Melanie-Joyce Bermudez) are both cold and spiteful with little to love in either of them. Jessica Revell brings out delightfully the loving and empathic side of wronged Cordelia but appears less comfortable in her double role as the zither-strumming Fool.

The half-brothers Edmund (Corey Mylchreest) and Edgar (Doug Colling) are admirably chalk and cheese. Edmund is rugged, hirsute, greasy and grimy but played by Mylchreest a little too close to pantomime villain at times. Edgar is the clean-shaven, boy-next-door. Colling provides the scene of the night as he guides his blinded father Gloucester (the excellent Joseph Kloska) in the guise of Poor Tom.

An exhilarating concluding battle scene (Bret Yount) is a mirror of the opening tribal dance but this time with a real fear of danger as the staffs are whirled as weapons.

Kenneth Branagh makes the stage his own in his final scene, cradling the body of Cordelia in his arms. As Lear’s last words stick in his throat, we witness an horrific, silent scream. Pure, perfect theatre.

SHAKESPEARE’S R & J at the Reading Rep Theatre

★★★★

“Elijah Ferreira gives a stunning performance as Romeo.”

This intriguing show was written by American Director Joe Calarco in 1997. It translates Romeo and Juliet’s ‘star-crossed lovers’ into pupils who act out the play at a repressive Catholic boys boarding school. The idea of containing a play within a play was very much Shakespeare’s own. A cast of just four are all on stage together for almost the entire evening as we see Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’ unfold through their adolescent eyes. Maybe ten percent of the text is new, including some of Shakespeare’s sonnets, latin drill – ‘amo, amas, amat’ and words from ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’. Right at the start it’s established that Student 1 has feelings for Student 2 and it’s these two that take on the roles of Romeo and Juliet – in intense performances that don’t always get the approval of their fellows.

A note in the programme by Director and Company founder Paul Stacey underlines their commitment to giving voice to the under-represented including those that identify as LGBTQIA+. This powerful production does just that in a way that some may find poses a playful challenge to their expectations. And if a few traditionalists are offended by this re-purposing of such a familiar text, that is their loss.

Elijah Ferreira gives a stunning performance as Romeo. Every word is carefully weighed and delivered with exacting clarity and dedication to meaning. He uses gesture with almost telegraphic expressiveness. Brayden Emmanuel is physically much taller than Ferreira and as Student 2, his involving and energetic Juliet defies any expectation of camp girlishness.

“a lively and rich-textured show”

Luke Daniels is Mercutio, Friar Laurence and Lady Capulet. Expect theatrical fireworks from the start of the second half when Romeo learns of his banishment. Daniel also shines as Lady Capulet in the scene that follows, as well as giving his own take on Mercutio’s memorable ‘Queen Mab’ speech about dreams. Tom Sowinski has some great comic moments as the Nurse and then flips into the brawling Tybalt in the duel with Mercutio.

A clever and beautiful set by Anna Kelsey literally steams with the intensity of the drama and integrates some pleasing lighting (John Rainsforth) which adds great atmosphere to this intimate and involving studio piece. The costumes ring true whilst avoiding the colour coding of the houses of Montague and Capulet seen in some productions of ‘Romeo and Juliet’.

The play within the play employs some stylised devices to considerable effect. A shouting chorus of disapproval condemns the young lovers. Swords become ropes and cloth. Action is slowed. The boy actors (or is it the Shakespearean characters?) observe each other performing and we see their reactions to the story they are unfolding.

Jamie Lu’s sound design is strong on thunder and lightning and for those that know it, there are some touching ‘Heart Stopper’ moments as the two young lovers get together.

Tag Archives: William Shakespeare

King Lear

★★★★

Wyndham’s Theatre

KING LEAR at Wyndham’s Theatre

★★★★

“an approachable and nothing-to-fear Lear”

“Allowing the text to breathe, he gives every consonant its full importance”

KING LEAR at Wyndham’s Theatre

Reviewed on 28th October 2023

by Phillip Money

Photography by Johan Persson

Previously reviewed at this venue:

Oklahoma! | ★★★★ | February 2023

Life of Pi | ★★★★★ | November 2021

King Lear

King Lear

Click here to read all our latest reviews

Shakespeare’s R & J

★★★★

Reading Rep Theatre

SHAKESPEARE’S R & J at the Reading Rep Theatre

★★★★

“Elijah Ferreira gives a stunning performance as Romeo.”

“a lively and rich-textured show”