Pretentious madness of ‘King Lear’

‘KING LEAR’: Glenda Jackson. Photo: Brigitte Lacombe

KING LEAR
Written by William Shakespeare
Directed by Sam Gold
Original score by Philip Glass
Cort Theatre
138 West 48th Street
(212-239-6200), www.KingLearonBroadway.com

By David NouNou

Whatever happened to the adage of less is more? In this revival of King Lear, Shakespeare has been bastardized and vandalized by director Sam Gold.

Shakespeare has been presented in many ways: traditional, contemporary, and with dates shifting from Roman times to Fascist times (as was the case of Julius Caesar with Denzel Washington playing Brutus in a 2005 revival that was a mess). Well, nothing will prepare you for this reincarnation of King Lear with Glenda Jackson, a role she performed in 2016 at London’s Old Vic.

Shakespeare is convoluted enough, and listening to the Bard’s dialogue is crucial in order to comprehend the narrative. It is complicated, so attention must be paid. External distractions are unnecessary because there are enough of them here. Clocking in at three hours and 35 minutes, it’s a Herculean sit-through.

Lear (Glenda Jackson) has three daughters: Goneril, the oldest (Elizabeth Marvel), Regan, the middle (Aisling O’Sullivan); and Cordelia (Ruth Wilson), the youngest. Ms. Wilson also portrays The Fool. Lear has two too many daughters. Goneril and Regan, along with their husbands, honor Lear with their false love and devotion, while Cordelia just honors him without any false flourishes. This galls Lear’s vanity. thus banishing Cordelia from the kingdom, only too late discovering the treachery of his other two daughters. Thus, his unraveling and dissent into madness ensues.

What also ensues is the madness that takes place on stage. With no clear focus but pretentiousness by director Sam Gold, throwing everything on stage, including the proverbial kitchen sink, the viewer has to make some sense of the proceedings. Why is there a four-piece chamber orchestra consisting of two violins, a cello and viola and whose members are clad in formal attire, playing chamber music and moving about the stage, courtesy of Philip Glass? If the raison d’etre of the piece is a gender-bending role for Glenda Jackson as Lear, then why diminish and take away from her bravura performance by adding other members of the cast in gender-reversed roles like Jayne Houdyshell as the Earl of Gloucester and Ruth Wilson, doubling up as the Fool? Both diminish the returns from Ms. Jackson.

It is truly important to give everyone a chance to perform on the stage. Mr. Gold uses many African-American actors in important roles, he is giving Sean Carvajal, a Latino actor, the part of Edgar, son of Gloucester, to speak in Spanish phrases to an army for comic relief, which makes absolutely no sense and is offensive to Shakespearean devotees. He also uses Russell Harvard, a hearing-impaired actor, portraying the Duke of Cornwall, Regan’s husband, using a sign-language interpreter, the wonderful Aide to Cornwall, Michael Arden. All of these are admirable choices, but they create so much distraction that there is no cohesive flow. A viewer loses focus and concentration, because one’s attention keeps changing from one thing to another.

In the past Mr. Gold directed A Doll’s House, Part 2 beautifully and concisely but he also directed the abysmal 2017 revival of The Glass Menagerie with Sally Field, where he sucked out all the poetic brilliance of Tennessee Williams. Ann Roth is usually a meticulous costume designer and designed gorgeous costumes for Ms. Jackson in Three Tall Women, but here she is all over the place as well.

Be forewarned that, with all the noise and distractions, this is a three hour and 35-minute hollow production, so bring lots of cushions for your seats. It just might make sitting through this more bearable.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published April 4, 2019

‘KING LEAR’: Jane Houdyshell & Glenda Jackson. Photo: Brigitte
Lacombe

‘KING LEAR’: Glenda Jackson. Photo: Brigitte Lacombe

‘KING LEAR’: Pedro Pascal & Jayne Houdyshell. Photo: Brigitte Lacombe

‘KING LEAR’: Ruth Wilson. Photo: Brigitte Lacombe