King Lear - Kenneth Branagh - Wyndham's

[ceebee]

Branagh is a relatively young Lear - this casting makes perfect sense. Let's wait and see...

[Dr Tom]

We’re in an odd world where people are saying £90 is cheap, or paying £150 to see Mockingbird etc is normal. Yes, some people are not price conscious (or perhaps not price limited), but they’re not the norm.

[lynette]

Pudding/eating. If it not well cast and disappointing, tix wont sell. Word of mouth v powerful. So let the actors act..

[sb61]

Jul 9, 2023 8:04:02 GMT sb61 said:

Jul 8, 2023 13:04:45 GMT Jan said:

£90 is not cheap for me. Like I asked before, why do you think they waited till well after booking had opened to let us know it was in association with RADA ?

I think my point is that the whole of the west end is pricey now , but still a lot cheaper than Broadway where top tickets can cost 450 USD and theatres not as nice.

Going to the west end theatre is generally now very pricey and I think its completely irrelevant that this is in association with Rada . As I repeat these are all alumuni of Rada and working actors now not students and only 2 of the cast are recent 2023 grads . 

The show is getting pretty sold out so the price is not putting people off the chance to watch one of our great actors play King Lear on stage.

[Jan]

Jul 9, 2023 15:54:18 GMT sb61 said:

Jul 9, 2023 8:04:02 GMT sb61 said:

I think my point is that the whole of the west end is pricey now , but still a lot cheaper than Broadway where top tickets can cost 450 USD and theatres not as nice.

And ticket prices in Germany are a lot lower than the West End. So what ?

[joem]

I have had my tickets for this for a while. A friend wanted to join us but we've been caught by the "you cannot leave an empty seat" outrage. So if anyone is having difficulties in getting a single please pm me. It's the evening performance on Saturday 2nd December.

To avoid any confusion - I haven't bought the two tickets and won't do so unless I know someone is interested in the spare.

[callum]

Sept 4, 2023 10:14:58 GMT joem said:

I have had my tickets for this for a while. A friend wanted to join us but we've been caught by the "you cannot leave an empty seat" outrage. So if anyone is having difficulties in getting a single please pm me. It's the evening performance on Saturday 2nd December.

To avoid any confusion - I haven't bought the two tickets and won't do so unless I know someone is interested in the spare.

You can place the single seat you don’t want in your basket on a separate browser, then go in before the single seat expires and buy only the seats you want.

[lynette]

Neat.

[theatremiss]

Sept 4, 2023 20:45:54 GMT callum said:

Sept 4, 2023 10:14:58 GMT joem said:

I have had my tickets for this for a while. A friend wanted to join us but we've been caught by the "you cannot leave an empty seat" outrage. So if anyone is having difficulties in getting a single please pm me. It's the evening performance on Saturday 2nd December.

To avoid any confusion - I haven't bought the two tickets and won't do so unless I know someone is interested in the spare.

You can place the single seat you don’t want in your basket on a separate browser, then go in before the single seat expires and buy only the seats you want.

That’s exactly what I do

[Dave B]

Lottery for £20 front row stalls tickets open now

www.delfontmackintosh.co.uk/whats-on/king-lear/ticket-lottery

[Steve]

Saw this tonight and thought it was thrilling!

It's a coherent, violent, muscular, take on King Lear that is exciting to watch.

Having a "youthful" Lear makes sense in the context of this world because it doesn't feel like longevity could possibly be a thing there lol.

Branagh is a whirlwind, of a piece with the setting.

Some spoilers follow. . .

Don't see this if you want long lingering sensitive scenes. Don't see this if your bladder can't last two hours straight through.

Do see this if you fancy seeing an ancient pagan Britain where the people of Britain look and feel more like Uthred and the Vikings of "The Last Kingdom," rather than the courtly world of Alfred. A fantastic youthful ensemble create a real sense of a coherent lived-in world.

The set is pagan standing stones, reminiscent of, but more encompassing and darker than, Stonehenge, with a pagan starry sky projected onto a circular screen above, with a hole in to let in the god of the sun (aka the spotlight). The screen above can equally become sturdy rustic roofs, and the thrum of the wind and the elements of nature are ever-present in the sound design.

A staggeringly savage yet coordinated display of stick-wielding establishes a sense that only absolute compliance with the disciplined and violent world of King Lear's tribe can keep you safe. This is a world of constant coordinated action, in which slowing down and ruminating individually could mean death.

The brilliance of this approach is that it turns the usual logic of Lear (Lear is an arrogant fool, Cordelia is gentle and rational) on its head, while at the same time making sense of all the events of the play.

Here, of course Lear demands absolute fealty and obedience, as banding together under his authoritarian leadership is the only way his tribe have survived the atavistic world they live in. Goneril's and Regan's phony words are necessary because they preserve the authoritarian order, while Cordelia speaking her truth threatens the whole tribe by unraveling that order, and Lear's furious response is an attempt to preserve the safety and order of his tribe.

For this reason, the doubling of Jessica Revell as both Cordelia and Fool is perfect, for in one sense, Cordelia IS a fool.

And as evil as they are, Goneril and Regan's worst actions can be read as attempts to preserve the pagan authoritarian order that Lear has allowed to fall apart. The wind and the rain can equally be read as a kind of punishment on Lear for dividing the order of his Kingdom in two.

In this version of Lear, the wily Edmund (usually depicted as a machiavellian proto Richard III) is a more a mirror of Cordelia, in that, like her, albeit for selfish reasons, he seeks to shake the stable authoritarian order, and like her, threatens the safety of everyone. And it is for Edgar to fight to re-establish order in this violent pagan world.

As Lear, Branagh bellows like the wind, his powerful and elongated proclamations deriving an elemental power from a primitive pagan order and an equally primitive pagan nature, which he, the ultimate fool, dismantles, blowing against himself. He is lithe, forceful, youthful, a Lear I've not seen before yet one that makes sense of the play!

On the downside, while Branagh's elemental Lear, Corey Mylchreest's usurping warrior-like Edmund (he's the spitting image and attitude of Uthred lol), Doug Collins's wild-eyed determined order-restoring Edgar, Caleb Obediah's absolutely towering all-encompassing action-man of justice, Albany, and Jessica Revell's principled action woman/feisty fool Cordelia are all immensely compelling, we don't get the slow motion milking of emotions that most Lear's offer (eg Glenda Jackson's lengthy death scene or the distraught McKellen dripping copious tears onto the butter-wouldn't-melt Romola Garai or the hollow-eyed vacant Derek Jacobi frantically crawling what looked like miles).

That said, this is so action packed that it's just plain exciting, and I imagine it could convert Lear holdouts who think the play's simply too overwrought.

For its fantastic coherent vision and elemental Branagh, I'd give it 4 and a half stars.

[anthony]

I loved it! My other half has vowed never to see anything else by Shakespeare, however. The seats at the Wyndham's must be the most uncomfortable in the West End? My legs... my back... the pain!

[lynette]

Sounds very interesting, thanks Steve and Anthony for your appraisals. I’m hoping I like Uthred and the Vikings. I do remember Noggin the Nog - any resemblance? 😂

[theatrefan77]

Oct 21, 2023 23:04:56 GMT anthony said:

I loved it! My other half has vowed never to see anything else by Shakespeare, however. The seats at the Wyndham's must be the most uncomfortable in the West End? My legs... my back... the pain!

I saw Life of Pi at the Wyndham's in Stalls and don't remember the seats being particularly uncomfortable.

May I ask where you sat? I'll be in Dress Circle for Lear.  Hope I won't have to spend 2 hours in pain!

[Dr Tom]

Have won the lottery for Monday, so there is hope if you're looking for affordable seats.

[Jan]

Oct 25, 2023 14:24:26 GMT Dr Tom said:

Have won the lottery for Monday, so there is hope if you're looking for affordable seats.

Well done ! Where are they - end of the front row ?

It anyone wants standing places (not me) there's no problem getting them, just hit the day ticket button at 10:30 every day, they don't sell out till about 11:00. 

[Dr Tom]

Oct 25, 2023 16:29:27 GMT Jan said:

Oct 25, 2023 14:24:26 GMT Dr Tom said:

Have won the lottery for Monday, so there is hope if you're looking for affordable seats.

Well done ! Where are they - end of the front row ?

It anyone wants standing places (not me) there's no problem getting them, just hit the day ticket button at 10:30 every day, they don't sell out till about 11:00. 

I won about 15:00 (later than advertised - or perhaps I was a second batch) and spotted the email almost straight away. The link is for a particular day on the DM site and they show you the seats available to choose between. All front row and about half the seats were available to choose from.

[al]

So I thought the day "seats" were the two either end of the front row and also standing places at the back of the stalls. Now very confused as just looked through dates in the next 10 days and two seats at the end of the front row were on sale (£20 each). Exactly what I wanted. There are also standing places for most dates.

[theatrefan77]

I thought this was good, not great. Loved the set design. Branagh is as good as expected in a Shakespeare play. The rest of the cast are a mix bag. Some are good, some just ok and some very poor. Glad i saw it but wouldn't see it again.

[lynette]

I can’t give this all those stars , Steve. It just wasn’t that good for me. I liked the pace, the stark setting was interesting with its turning wheel references, the costumes just too dreary for me. I mean this is a kingdom we are fighting for here, lads. No sign of it. The young actors didn’t cut it for me. They were not grounded enough, they need to dig in, breathe, connect with the audience more. Edmund had a good go at this and I’d see him again. Gloucester being older, managed this. Kenny was workmanlike, not great. With luck, I might see his second go in a few years’ time. The trouble is, these days with our longevity we expect ‘old’ to mean 80s and seeing Kenny’s nice - he’s been to the gym- body didn’t cut it for me. ( in another way, it provided a pleasant distraction ) No great insights. Nothing thrilling. They all spoke clearly but I’m not sure they all understood what they were saying. 3* for me.

[Dr Tom]

For anyone interested, the front row ticket is absolutely fine, the stage is slightly high but bearable, plus you get a perfect view of facial reactions (including the odd smirk and wandering eyes).

At under two hours without an interval, this is fast moving and never dragged. I appreciated the simple approach (which is clearly designed to tour) and that there were no unnecessary added gunshots or the like. The limited use of projections worked. I wasn't completely sold on the decisions how to cast some of the roles, but that isn't to discredit the talent of anyone involved. No issue at all with casting young. Brilliant to see Doug Colling as Edgar too. I hadn't checked the casting in advance, so it did take my brain a bit of time to match up to his rather different role in Dear Evan Hansen.

This seems to be selling very well and a nice respectful audience. What more could you want?

[lynette]

I don’t have a problem with casting young. A bit more direction needed maybe.
At least we didn’t need earphones….

[sam22]

Oct 27, 2023 21:43:05 GMT lynette said:

I can’t give this all those stars , Steve. It just wasn’t that good for me. I liked the pace, the stark setting was interesting with its turning wheel references, the costumes just too dreary for me. I mean this is a kingdom we are fighting for here, lads. No sign of it. The young actors didn’t cut it for me. They were not grounded enough, they need to dig in, breathe, connect with the audience more. Edmund had a good go at this and I’d see him again. Gloucester being older, managed this. Kenny was workmanlike, not great. With luck, I might see his second go in a few years’ time. The trouble is, these days with our longevity we expect ‘old’ to mean 80s and seeing Kenny’s nice - he’s been to the gym- body didn’t cut it for me. ( in another way, it provided a pleasant distraction ) No great insights. Nothing thrilling. They all spoke clearly but I’m not sure they all understood what they were saying. 3* for me.

Largely how I felt. It was fine but not great. I love Lear but my mind wandered quite a few times

[theoracle]

I found this pretty exhilarating. The fight scenes were all executed with great precision. Edgar and Edmund’s battle was terrifically done and I thought Goneril was a standout. I know there was some controversy about the way this was cast - nepotism aside, when you have actors this good, and yes from RADA, you can’t complain. I don’t think there was a single weak performance here and they more than prove their worth on the stage with Sir Kenneth. The main man himself was a very masculine Lear - extravagant, vain and quick to react until his descent begins. At just under 2 hours, it felt like an action piece but smarter with Shakespeare’s words pulling through with great effect. Audience seemed gripped apart from one woman constantly fiddling with her programming, running her fingers through the pages until several of us told her to stop. Solid 4.5* from me

[Rory]