King Lear | Crucible Theatre Sheffield

More than 20 years after taking on the title role in Edward Bond’s modern reframing of King Lear, Tony and Olivier winning legend of stage and screen Ian McDiarmid (best known to most as Palpatine in the Star Wars franchise) returns to the Sheffield Crucible to finally tackle the bard’s original story, adding to an already considerably impressive Shakespearean repertoire that spans more than five decades. In this new staging by Donmar Warehouse artistic director Titas Halder, the emotional weight and innate humanity of the story is kept very much at its forefront, with a supporting cast stacked full of talent making light work of such a heavy narrative.

Comparative to Shakespeare’s other tragedies, King Lear is unmatched in its unrelenting bleakness and gloom that permeates throughout the entire narrative, and though this is occasionally punctured by means of the introduction of Lear’s fool, the overarching sentiment throughout is of hopelessness; the seemingly endless series of tragic events stack up like the most horrific of Jenga blocks, until they all come tumbling down in the final act, compounded by Lear’s developing descent into insanity. 

Director Halder has created a brooding, sinister, and deliciously dark creative palate, with Richard Kent’s minimalist yet rusty, dirty set combining splendidly well with Ryan Day’s inventive lighting design, as if they work together as a well oiled machine. And the auditory contribution by sound designer Emma Laxton and composer Sarah Angliss must also be profusely praised, as they have created a soundscape that expertly matches the emotion and aura of each scene, from the subtle but looming rumble of more tense moments, to the all out explosion during the storm into which Lear runs during the third act (also working exceptionally well with Kent and Day).

The titular role is certainly one of the most physically and emotionally demanding for anyone who takes it on, calling for a well rounded, balanced performance, with a superbly graded descent from power and dominance into madness, and latterly utter heartbreak, taking us on a true whirlwind of emotion for just short of three hours. With countless acting giants having taken on this role to marvellous acclaim, the latest addition to the list McDiarmid has well and truly put his own stamp on the role, bringing plenty of power, precision and personality, as well as simply unmatched stage presence. Through his entire range of delivery, even at little more than a whisper, he has us in the palm of his hand, and we hang on every single word.

Whilst it’s McDiarmid’s lead performance that acts as the emotional engine room of the play, the supporting cast show that they are equally adept at delivering Shakespeare’s text, as well as both finding meaning behind it and conveying its depth and complexity, communicating this most tricky of theatrical styles with outstanding clarity. In particular, Katie Wimpenny and Justina Kehinde are transcendent as Lear’s eldest daughters, with the former commanding a powerful performance as entitled, manipulative Goneril, whilst Kehinde is exceptionally calculating and cold as ruthless middle sibling, Regan. Contrasting terrifically with the generally gloomy tone, the king’s street dancing fool is depicted with real fizz and fervency by Max Revell, in arguably one of the performances of the day.

The harrowing nature of this play’s melancholic tone is mostly brilliantly handled, and though there are a few moments when the energy drops somewhat, contributing to slightly heavy handed pacing at times, we still have a sturdy, thematically sound production that never felt like it distracted from the rawness of the acting, allowing the text to speak for itself. This galvanised, of course, by a quite astonishing leading performance from McDiarmid, an acting masterclass that will go down as one of his finest on the stage.

King Lear plays at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield until Saturday 19th September - tickets and more information can be found here.

★★★★☆ (4*)

Gifted tickets in return for an honest review | Photography by Johan Persson