King Lear - Kenneth Branagh - Wyndham's

Channelling Brian Blessed...

"Goneril's alive?"

Yes, I agree - I thought Cornwall was superb but very SRB with staccato delivery and menacing but slightly camp. I found KEn quite boomy but was not offended by hos performance. I'm not sure I'd see Lear-lite or similar as a habit but the production was a nice way to waste two hours

Sir Kenneth spotted me staring at his six-pack. It’s not well defined but definitely there. He’s too old for me though.

Saw it a couple of days ago, and it's okay? It's a serviceable production and, with its Hamiltonesque pacing, it must be the first time I watched Lear without ever getting bored, but together with the play's challenges they also cut its emotional rewards: there is no getting around the fact that in focusing on the plot, they neglected the emotional depth.

I think the real problem of this production is being in the West End and having Kenneth Branagh Inc. in the leading role. It would be much better off touring the country with a familiar name as Lear: GCSE and A-level students everywhere would enjoy it much better than your regular 3-hour-something Lear, and it's a very accessible introduction to the play for a young theatergoer.

The lines were beautifully spoken – congrats to RADA on its attention to diction – but the cast is definitely still unexperienced. I liked Corey Mylchreest. So many lines from Lear, Gloucester and Kent focus on (old) age, and the contrast between what you see and what you hear is particularly jarring: Branagh himself is a vigorous and virile Lear that could pass for a man in his 40s! Seeing him play with his staff during the opening scenes made me wonder why he didn't just play and direct himself as Prospero, which feels more appropriate for his age and his late-stage-Olivier acting style.

This was such a wasted opportunity. I couldn't see any reason for squeezing it into 2 hours, but so much was lost by doing that. I felt unmoved by scenes which I'd normally find gut-wrenching. I don't think that was due to bad acting, more that there was no time to give weight to what was happening and being said, no time for the audience to think.

An actor in his 60s is not too young to play Lear, but playing him with vigour and a lack of physical vulnerability for much of the play didn't work for me.

Of the younger actors Corey Mylchreest as Edmund and Deborah Alli as Goneril were the standouts.

I'd give it 2.5 stars. It was certainly no worse than a lot of recent Globe and RSC output, but someone else directing (with a slower pace) and more depth and experience in the supporting cast could have made this a 4 star production.

Looking forward to seeing what Danny Sapani (age 53) and Yael Farber do with the play at the Almeida next year.

Saw today's matinee. Quite boring.

I wanted to ask: both Branagh and, at times, other actors mark their R's quite strongly. Is that any particular accent? An affectation? A way of delivering the verse?

Michael Bryant comes to mind, in my first Lear (NT), with Anthony Hopkins. Bryant was a great Gloucester. I saw that McKellen Kent as well (Brian Cox as Lear), don't remember much about it.

King Lear supports Spurs? Well who knew. Nothing can come of nothing...

Enjoyed the matinee today. Pace less frenetic than earlier in the run. Thoroughly enjoyed it.