matildabj (Directed by Trevor Nunn, Lear played by Ian McKellen). I am high as a kite. It was almost four hours long and more or less the first thing I said to matildabj was 'I wish there was more'. I can't hope to do it justice, not this late in the evening. The Fool was played by Sylvester McCoy (vulnerable), and Goneril by Frances Barber (authoritative - both the wicked sisters were fantastic), Albany and Cornwall were very good. The fight between Edmund and Edgar was perhaps the best staged sword fight I've seen at the theatre. Edmund is my favourite character and he was physical and sexy. Gosh I can't burble on like this can I?It's hard to know what the point of a theatre review is; unlike a film there's not the shared experience. I could make intelligent remarks about the aspects of the script brought out by the production, but you'd just have to take my word for it anyway.
McKellen was great. I am not a special fan. I know he's a good actor, but I don't have a crush kind of thing. But he was frickin' fantastic. He zoomed up and down between fragile and furious, senile, mad, wise, funny, with complete authority, and had the whole place entranced. I was entranced certainly. What energy he's got!
I think the decision for him to strip off was slightly a gimmick. He has an impressive physique for his age and, there's no other way to put this, a huge member. I didn't think the strip-off was - you know - artistically necessary or anything. Perhaps a bit of excusable vanity.
Anyway, be tolerant of the incoherence of this review, I'm not drunk but I might as well be.
