Play Review: King Lear by William Shakespeare

Play Review Author`s Name Institution Affiliation Written by William Shakespeare, King Lear is a play about the tragedy of the title character who, while avoiding disputes, decides to divide his kingdom between two eldest daughters. Gradually, the King of Britain, in the face of crises, descents into madness. The themes of power, family union, love, forgiveness, justice and gender are at the core of Shakespeare’s writing. The director gave the stage-play a very slick and thrilling look. There were many scenes in the play that contained strong and dialogues, and actors stood out with their expressions. The production team very uniquely designed the set. The lighting team ensured that all important elements of the set were adequately lit to bring out all the required features of the set. The lighting was stylish and cinematic and kept me on the edge of my seat with little or more aiding music. The combination of both lighting and music had set the pace and mood of the play. During the play, a subtle approach was used to surface the elements of dark comedy. Honestly speaking, I was not able to digest them properly. The lead actor delivered a phenomenal performance as King Lear. He used the language as the most brutal tool to rebuke his elder daughter. His personality shift from being a sarcastic and bullying father to become a fragile, benign and loon person is remarkable. Though the lead actor was the lucky draw for the director, the actress in the role of the older daughter of King Lear gave a reasonable performance. She was especially good in the scene where, after the sudden drop in King’s health, she decided to turn upon him. The second elder daughter of the King also lent good support to her surrounding actors. Her performance also notably hit the strings where her malice surfaced against her father, and she felt she was breaking free. This is where I will need to change my tone, as I have been very appreciative of everything I have mentioned above about the play. Below, I have mentioned a ...