Eliza Power finds a quieter, abusive Lear, low key but brilliantly disturbing.
It’s a subject that many literary theorists have inferred: did King Lear sexually abuse his daughters? In this new production of Shakespeare’s tale at the Almeida Theatre by Director Michael Attenborough, it is more than just hinted at.
King Lear, in a fine performance from Jonathan Pryce, has decided to step down from the throne and to divide his kingdom amongst his three prized daughters on one condition: that they profess they love him above anything or anyone else. Goneril and Regan accept the challenge and receive their dues, whilst youngest daughter Cordelia, the only loving and honest child of Lear’s, refuses to take part in such a spectacle and is duly banished. A possible history of sexual abuse begins to unfold through Lear’s unpredictable behavior: in anger he bestows a disturbingly passionate kiss upon Goneril during one heightened scene and dangerously embraces daughter Regan in another: all the time Regan is visibly sickened by his touch.
Pryce’s Lear, though impeccably acted, is a low key affair compared to previous performances I’ve seen: the central issue being that Lear’s utter despair is never quite realised in this one. He is clearly losing his faculties, engages a fool (an excellently deadpan Trevor Fox) as his chief confident and advice giver, and is far removed from reality. However the performance is at times too short on emotion. Though Pryce gives us a stunningly understated interpretation of Lear, there are one or two moments where he could push the role even further to engage the audience’s sympathies, which have already been reduced due to the allusions of abuse.
The rest of the cast rise to the task and the production as a whole is faultless. Phoebe Fox’s Cordelia is refreshingly defiant and sassy, spitting venom at her treacherous sisters as she warns them she will seek vengeance. Similarly Zoe Waites as Goneril and Jenny Jules as Regan provide striking performances: equal parts scheming banshees and villainous traitors. The chemistry between the two actors is evident, hinting again to a camaraderie which at times appears more inspired by seeking justice for their father’s actions towards them, than a hunger for wealth and power. Clive Wood gives us a memorable Duke of Gloucester, not only due to his excellent performance, but a rather visceral eye gouging scene (anyone who doesn’t wish to see a bloodied eyeball thrown across the stage prepare you).
This is a production that explores more about familial grievances than kingship, but does surprisingly inject a new lease of life into a well worn play.
King Lear runs at Almeida Theatre until 3rd November
Image: Chook Sibtain (Cornwall), Jenny Jules (Regan), Jonathan Pryce (King Lear), Zoe Waites (Goneril) and Richard Hope (Albany) by Keith Pattison. 
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