Gina Mckee, who I love, is a fabulously steely Goneril – poised, elegant; her face set in a permanent sneer. Her first illicit encounter (that we see) with Edmund was one of my highlights; as he repeatedly grabs her breast she jolts and shudders in ecstasy as if hit by an electric shock. Almost immediately she segues into a scene with her husband where she becomes the physical aggressor, however this time the brutality of the force is malign – she grasps his balls with disgust and shame for his nature and actions. The twisted reflection of the two scenes is perfectly set up.
The set itself was another highlight for me – the mottled white wooden boards are both blinding and bleak– the perfect backdrop to a story which turns on a knife edge. The way they encircle the auditorium also mean they envelop the audience too, drawing you in and almost including you in the action.
Ron Cook as the fool was exceptional. Normally I hate a Shakespearian fool, but this fool was so infused with melancholy, so clearly offering poignant insights without over playing it or scene stealing, I grew to see the character in a new light.
I think that that last point was ‘it’ really for me. I felt that I heard and felt the text in a new way. there were so many moments i could isolate... take one: when Lear is cradling Tom the madman, touching/stroking him like an animal; it's a physical comparison of man and beast that is echoed in the text a little later – there were so many moments like this where what I saw echoed what I heard and visa versa but in a wholly new and original way.
I don’t often give standing ovations, but I leapt to my feet at the end of this – it was totally, utterly, knock-your-socks off brilliant.
King Lear runs until Febuary 5th at the Donmar Warehouse.
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