![]() With some of the best Shakespeare speeches both in terms of length and complexity, you find your feelings about Lear going all over the place, dislike, pity, annoyance, love, etc. ![]() They are sweet but vicious, assured but with doubts, frail but strong. Lear is an odd character who draws out a range of emotions from the audience. All that matters is the ability to deliver a very complex role well. The reality is that the outward physical characteristics of the actor really don’t matter. Feminists love it and the anti-woke brigade are not keen. The casting of a woman in the role of Lear in this production, which was first performed in 1997, has had both positive and negative reactions. Name the cause and King Lear can be used to support it. It is also one of Shakespeare’s plays that can be used to prove a point. Anyone that is familiar with the show Game of Thrones will definitely recognise the way the story is laid out. King Lear is a fascinating story because of its various machinations as the characters cheat, steal, lie and betray each other in the pursuit of power. Lear, feeling they have done the right thing, announces that he, his fool, and his retinue will live alternately with each of his daughters, and believing that they are set for a peaceful and happy retirement, leaves the throne room happy and content. While he has welcomed Edmund to family, the boy resents his status as a bastard who will not be able to inherit his father’s title unlike his older half-brother Edgar (Kwaku Mills). Another who is not happy with the king’s decisions is the Earl of Gloucester (Diego Matamoros) who that day has introduced Kent to his illegitimate son Edmund (Ryan Donaldson). Whatever their personal feelings, none of the court questions the king’s actions with the exception of the Earl of Kent (Gabriel Akuwudike) who speaks out about the treatment of Cordelia and is punished for his impertinence. Not only had she lost her inheritance but also Cordelia is now not as attractive as a wife to her two suitors, the Duke of Burgundy (Max Keeble) and the King of France (Emma Ernest). Whilst Goneril and Regan have no trouble, and return to their husbands, the Dukes of Albany (Glyn Pritchard) and Cornwall (Max Jax) respectively, with their lands allocated, Cordelia is unable to fulfil the King’s wishes and is disinherited by Lear, who splits the kingdom in two rather than three. But this will not be a straight three-way split, for Lear’s daughters must justify their share by speaking words of love to the king. The king has decided that in order to stop any problems of succession and allow them an opportunity to retire, they will divide the realm between their three daughters – Goneril (Ann Ogbomo), Regan (Marianne Oldham) and Cordelia (Michelle Terry). The court of Lear (Kathryn Hunter) has gathered for an important announcement. And the protagonist of William Shakespeare’s King Lear at the Globe has, they believe, worked out a foolproof plan. But if you are a monarch then there is the little matter of succession to be thought about. For the majority of people, this is a fairly easy time, when they can relax and reflect on their lives, spend time with their family and generally enjoy life. For most people, thanks to the wonders of medical science, before death comes old age and retirement. ![]() This saying is very true but misses out on one thing. In this world, nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes. ![]()
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