Ian McKellen as King Lear, National Theatre Live

National Theatre Live broadcasts a modern-day telling of Shakespeare’s King Lear, directed by Jonathan Munby and starring Ian McKellen. Broadcasted live from the Chichester Festival Theatre in September 2018, the tragedy is staged in an intimate setting where the audience is treated to a close-up view of Lear’s descent into the madness, the political chaos that results from the foolish splitting of the kingdom between his two callous daughters and their husbands, and the conflict between parent and child.

Munby sets King Lear in what is presumably modern-day England. Lear is portrayed as an elderly man with dementia, which strikes home in a time when so many seniors currently suffer from this debilitating disease. Lear’s poor decisions are portrayed as not only affecting himself, his daughters, and his lords, but his people as well. A whole country suffers when its leadership is in chaos, as depicted by the intentional staging of Lear’s “one hundred” men who later appear as unemployed and homeless.

Since I had watched McKellen’s portrayal of Lear in Trevor Nunn’s 2008 production with PBS Great Performances in high school, it was fascinating to see McKellen reprise the role ten years later in an intimate theatre space. Even though I enjoyed Nunn’s historical setting for Lear, I loved the 2018 production’s focus on how the conflict effects the people. Munby’s choice to stage the show in modern day times, with the British Parliament, a Lear with dementia, a resourceful, female Kent (I’d never considered gender switching in Lear, but a female Kent played so well. Kent, as a successful woman in Parliament, has to put away her straight skirts and blouses in exchange for dressing up as a man and entering the hard underworld of England, where she learns to play tough and fend for herself, while loyally fighting for the rights of a misguided King she loves. Because of the female Kent, I was drawn into the character’s journey in a way I’d never been before), and a strong, independent Cordelia (who dresses in a military uniform and fights in the battle) makes for a modern, fresh, and riveting telling of an already much produced and well-loved tragedy.

I was especially impressed by each actor’s performance. Every word, every gesture was clear and intentional; every speech and phrase that could be confusing on paper was said in such a way as to be clearly understood. I am inspired and challenged to use the same meticulous intention in my own life when working with difficult texts.

Check out this brilliant production: http://ntlive.nationaltheatre.org.uk/media/video/ntlout29-king-lear/eSu82KgkIX0

King Lear. By William Shakespeare, directed by Jonathan Munby, performance by Ian
McKellen, Chichester Festival Theatre, broadcasted live by National Theatre Live, 27 Sept. 2018, Scotiabank Theatre Chinook, Calgary, Canada.

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