Simon Russell Beale as King Lear

I did not blog about it since I saw it, but I thought I would write now about the production of King Lear by Sam Mendes for the National Theatre, especially about Simon Russell Beale in the title role. Long story short: seen it, loved it. I did not appreciate it as much as I could as I watched in an evening of the week and I was tired, so I am considering seeing it again. There are still tickets available and performances will end in early July, by the way. So you can see for yourself.

What sold me this production and made me rediscover the play is the performance of Beale. He plays Lear first as an aging dictator eager to enjoy his retirement, but nevertheless prone to fits of anger, this destructive wrath old age and power could bring to such a man. In the other production I saw, years ago, Lear was depicted as an elderly king, whose old age made him capricious. I think this is how he is often perceived in productions, I may be wrong. In this one, he is a hard, feared military leader, stripped slowly from his power, social stature and wealth by his daughters, who do have motivations to get back at him, to finally become a bitter old man and finally a madman. Beale then plays him as suffering from senile dementia, losing his inhibitions, trembling, becoming confused and restless. This is a stroke of genius. Lear's descent into madness is both unsettling and fascinating. His vulnerability forces us to sympathizes with the former tyrant and to face an illness that might be our own one day.

The voice of Simon Russell Beale

As my readership knows, I am soon going to see King Lear, with Simon Russell Beale in the title role. More about the play here. And it struck me recently that he also did a narration of Pumpkin Soup by Helen Cooper, one of my favourite children's books, which I blogged about here. The copy of the version I bought comes with a CD with the story read by him. I think it may be the only time I heard him. And, well, I find it surreal, Simon Russell Beale performing King Lear now, being a thespian and veteran Shakespearean actor, and incidentally reader of children's books. I don't find this demeaning at all, I know many professional actors do this, and Pumpkin Soup is a modern classic in its own right. In his entry on Wikipedia, I also learn that he is a music historian. I know so little of his work, but I like him more and more. This week, I intend to listen to the CD again, giving a lot of attention to his voice.

King Lear in London?

I don't really like London and I am trying hard to like the city again, or at least stop disliking it as much. I don't know when it started, I think it was around my long bit of unemployment in 2008, when I was going there every week or so for interviews with job agencies. I grew disgusted of the city. Nevertheless, I went there last Saturday for the first time in a long time. I thought I would get reacquainted with the city in small doses. But soon I read something in the Metro that made me want to back sooner than expected.

I haven't been to see a play in ages, not since last year in Manchester and I have been wanting to see a play for ages. Then flicking through the Metro I discovered that the National Theatre is featuring King Lear by... Well, you know the author. The play is directed by Sam Mendes and Simon Russell Beale has the title role. It just struck me: I really want to see that play. Not merely because it is the Bard, or because it has been well criticized, or because the director has directed the last and will direct the next James Bond movie, but because I miss seeing something on stage, I miss the atmosphere of a theater. And, well, I do like King Lear quite a lot. I am not sure how feasible it will be in the next few weeks, nevertheless I have decided that will go and see more plays. Even though I envy the actors on stage.