King Lear (London) London Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (10)
See it if If you’re just in London visiting for a few days to see a play in the Globe.
Don't see it if I wouldn’t see this if this would be seeing your first Lear — as this is the apex of Shakespeare, or in other words, of Art itself. Read more
See it if you want your mind blown by Kathryn Hunter's ridiculously incredible performance as Lear that is embodied
Don't see it if you don't like Shakespeare's epics
See it if You're a fan of Shakespeare and literature and don't mind long dialogues.
Don't see it if You your English is weak or you don't like long dialogues and a bit archaic language
See it if you know this play and enjoy Shakespeare being adapted.
Don't see it if you don’t know anything about Shakespearean language or this play.
See it if you want to see Kathryn Hunter giving a great performance as Lear with a masterful physicality and connection to the piece.
Don't see it if you want a Shakespeare production that's enthralling. Hunter is the highlight however the production as a whole does not get that level.
See it if You love Lear and you want to see some A+ acting, most notably by Michelle Terry as both Cordella and Lear's Fool (in my opinion).
Don't see it if You really don't understand the story and what Lear is about at all. It get's complicated.
See it if you get to see the incredible Kathrine Hunter in the role.
Don't see it if you don’t like shakespeare.
See it if You enjoy emotional acting that takes your breath away, tales of power and madness, and subtle costumes. A must-see for Shakespeare fans.
Don't see it if You want a feel-good show, King Lear is a tragedy. The play is speech-driven, so if you like action and moving sets, move along.
Critic Reviews (6)
"Amid an age when human discourse seems to debase itself further by the day, you’d think this would be the ideal time to revisit a play that induces a knowing assent at the assertion after the interval that 'wisdom and goodness to the vile seem vile' – how true that comment, made apparently in passing, seems just now."
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There is not a false moment in Kathryn Hunter’s performance as King Lear. Coming 25 years after she first played the role ... this magnetic performer has lost none of her [power]. [It] makes for an interesting, distinctive evening, but a long way short of a great one.
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The most striking thing about this production of King Lear ... is the physical transformation of Kathryn Hunter in the title role. However ... the production comes over as rather uneven, and Hunter’s performance a bit of a curate’s egg.
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Minimal effects mean the performances and language are allowed to do the heavy-lifting. Beyond Hunter’s resonant central performance, Ryan Donaldson’s Edmund stands out.
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It’s [Hunter's] prodigiously powerful stage presence, masculine body language and stentorian voice ... that anchors this rendition ... Even so, the production that has been built around her is ... unfortunately patchy and thematically rudderless.
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Hunter takes her place, with Derek Jacobi, Ian McKellen, Paul Scofield (on film), and Glenda Jackson among the Lears seared in my mind.
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