King Lear
Greenwich Playhouse

Stephen Doran

Shakespeare on the fringe is always a big risk…and the Galleon Theatre Company makes a brave attempt to tackle one of Shakespeare's 'Big Four' tragedies (along with Othello, Macbeth and Hamlet, just in case you were wondering).

Galleon present King Lear in a contemporary setting (again another risk, especially if the modern context does not agree with the themes of the play - and again, Galleon manage to pull it off to a certain degree).

A pet peeve of mine when it comes to Shakespeare is actors who cannot command the text. Oliver Bradshaw in the title role does well with the text in Lear's 'lucid moments' but loses any command over the language in his 'mad' scenes - rather a disappointment, for Lear's madness can be extremely touching if done well.

For the most part, the cast handles the language well, although at times things seem a bit forced, like when people suddenly seem angry - a sign that the language is in control and not the actor. Another notable performance is Tom Stuart's Edmund - what a relief to see an Edmund who doesn't play up to the stereotypical role of the villain! Director Brian Jamieson probably could have afforded to spend more time working on speaking the text with some of his actors, but he still managed to give the text a good kick in the bum with some serious cutting and pacing.

All in all, not a bad way to spend an evening. I'm a little disappointed in the production, but then I'm a Shakespeare purist.

Till 15 February 2004