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annwfynSo, last night was our expedition to see King Lear. In the end various people couldn't make it, and so it was only myself, pierot, ksirafai, lanfykins and Ginnie's aunt, who appeared at the very last minute, just as the doors were being shut and we were panicking.
I've never seen King Lear before. I was vaguely aware of the story, and always felt it didn't make sense. I didn't know the text that well, and I think that made it a lot more interesting for me. OK...there weren't exactly many great surprises, but the play began to make more sense as I watched it.
To my mind (and I might be wrong in this) King Lear seems to make a lot more sense if it becomes a play about a cycle of emotional abuse. King Lear has never made sense because I have never understood how a father could act that way. You don't disinherit your daughter over one comment. Why on earth did his daughters then start the entire conflict by throwing him out when it all could have been so easily avoided by them giving him a nice retirement castle and enjoying their new kingdoms while he got drunk somewhere else with his knights?
Watching the play it seemed to me that the only way all that made sense if is the play wasn't just about King Lear's actions after he retires, but about the ramifications of his actions throughout his daughters' lives.
First of all, it's pretty clear that he's basically been emotionally abusing his two older daughters for years. He is fairly open about the fact that he loves the youngest daughter the most, he essentially makes them publicly grovel for his approval - he came across to me as something of a Stalin figure. A powerful man who was already unstable and seeing the world only through the words of his sycophants, which is why Cordelia's lack of sycophancy was such a shock to him. He's fairly clearly unstable on some level - again - I don't see how a stable and mature man can, in one evening, disinherit his greatly loved daughter, and exile his most loyal henchman unless he is losing it on some level already.
Once you've made that assumption it also begins to make more sense, to me at least, that his daughters do turn on him. They've been raised desperate for his attention, unable to say 'no', and then they discover that they do have a power over him now, and there's a lot of resentment stored up there.
The other thing I found really interesting watching the play was the difference between Regan and Goneril. Really, Regan is the only power hungry bitch. Goneril came across as a messed up woman absolutely desperate for love and affection, and yet this becomes by far the more dangerous of the two psychosis as she falls for Edmund, who of course can't love her. I don't think Edmund is capable. He's someone who has been told he's a bastard, told he's something slightly dirty, something slightly lesser until it destroys him. Again - someone who has been created by his parent's failing, that ultimately destroys the parent.
And so that's how I saw King Lear - a story of how a parents' failings can come back to destroy them, and the sins of the father are ultimately returned to them via their own children.
The staging was lovely. The RSC had decided to not play about with any particularly clever background or context stuff - the set was stark, with clean lines and the only colours used were greens, blues, blacks or greys, so the entire theatre felt cold. The lighting was stunning, and always had either a slight green or blue filter, or was pure cold white. The costumes were simple - shirts and trousers, or long dresses - which could have come from many times, and so didn't tie the play to anywhere or anytime. It was the story they focussed on, letting the text stand alone.
We got home late, which was good. I failed to get up for swimming this morning for I am weak. I think a lie in was a good idea, however. This week has been a fairly rough week in so many ways. Today is Li'l Sis's birthday and then back to university tomorrow.
pierot, ksirafai, lanfykins and Ginnie's aunt, who appeared at the very last minute, just as the doors were being shut and we were panicking. I've never seen King Lear before. I was vaguely aware of the story, and always felt it didn't make sense. I didn't know the text that well, and I think that made it a lot more interesting for me. OK...there weren't exactly many great surprises, but the play began to make more sense as I watched it.
To my mind (and I might be wrong in this) King Lear seems to make a lot more sense if it becomes a play about a cycle of emotional abuse. King Lear has never made sense because I have never understood how a father could act that way. You don't disinherit your daughter over one comment. Why on earth did his daughters then start the entire conflict by throwing him out when it all could have been so easily avoided by them giving him a nice retirement castle and enjoying their new kingdoms while he got drunk somewhere else with his knights?
Watching the play it seemed to me that the only way all that made sense if is the play wasn't just about King Lear's actions after he retires, but about the ramifications of his actions throughout his daughters' lives.
First of all, it's pretty clear that he's basically been emotionally abusing his two older daughters for years. He is fairly open about the fact that he loves the youngest daughter the most, he essentially makes them publicly grovel for his approval - he came across to me as something of a Stalin figure. A powerful man who was already unstable and seeing the world only through the words of his sycophants, which is why Cordelia's lack of sycophancy was such a shock to him. He's fairly clearly unstable on some level - again - I don't see how a stable and mature man can, in one evening, disinherit his greatly loved daughter, and exile his most loyal henchman unless he is losing it on some level already.
Once you've made that assumption it also begins to make more sense, to me at least, that his daughters do turn on him. They've been raised desperate for his attention, unable to say 'no', and then they discover that they do have a power over him now, and there's a lot of resentment stored up there.
The other thing I found really interesting watching the play was the difference between Regan and Goneril. Really, Regan is the only power hungry bitch. Goneril came across as a messed up woman absolutely desperate for love and affection, and yet this becomes by far the more dangerous of the two psychosis as she falls for Edmund, who of course can't love her. I don't think Edmund is capable. He's someone who has been told he's a bastard, told he's something slightly dirty, something slightly lesser until it destroys him. Again - someone who has been created by his parent's failing, that ultimately destroys the parent.
And so that's how I saw King Lear - a story of how a parents' failings can come back to destroy them, and the sins of the father are ultimately returned to them via their own children.
The staging was lovely. The RSC had decided to not play about with any particularly clever background or context stuff - the set was stark, with clean lines and the only colours used were greens, blues, blacks or greys, so the entire theatre felt cold. The lighting was stunning, and always had either a slight green or blue filter, or was pure cold white. The costumes were simple - shirts and trousers, or long dresses - which could have come from many times, and so didn't tie the play to anywhere or anytime. It was the story they focussed on, letting the text stand alone.
We got home late, which was good. I failed to get up for swimming this morning for I am weak. I think a lie in was a good idea, however. This week has been a fairly rough week in so many ways. Today is Li'l Sis's birthday and then back to university tomorrow.
