On Langella's Lear

by Brian Scott Lipton

Chu Omambala and Frank Langella. Photo: Johan Persson

It’s long been a truism in theatrical circles that every actor of a certain age considers his career
incomplete until he has played the title role in Shakespeare’s King Lear. Without question, the
Bard’s proud monarch is a banquet for every seasoned thespian to feast on. Now, Tony Award
winner Frank Langella tackles the role.

Similarly, many a great director, from John Houseman to Jonathan Miller, has put his own stamp on Lear. Now, Angus Jackson takes his turn with this classic play. His production arrives at the BAM Harvey Theater on January 7 for a five-week run after a month-long stint at England’s Chichester Festival.

“Angus Jackson’s excellent production becomes the theatrical equivalent of a pressure cooker, scalding in its intensity,” writes Charles Spencer of the Daily Telegraph. “Throughout, the play emerges with clarity and insight as well as dramatic power.”

“It’s a play I always admired, and connected with emotionally, from the first time I saw it with Robert Stephens at the Royal Shakespeare Company when I was a teenager. I even remember the standing ovation,” says Jackson. “Then, a few years ago I did a production of Bingo by Edward Bond at the Young Vic with Patrick Stewart. That play is a bit of a riff on Lear and I did a lot of research on Lear while doing it. It got me thinking about the themes of the play, especially how people abuse their power and then injustice occurs. Plus, I love these dark, epic plays with these very compromised characters whose fortunes keep changing. It’s like a roller-coaster ride.”

Chu Omambala, Catherine McCormack, and Isabella Laughland. Photo: Johan Persson

Not surprisingly, Jackson was determined to put his own stamp on the production. “One of the first things I talked about with my team is the importance of the role of the Earl of Gloucester. He’s really Lear’s alter ego—another old man who’s having trouble with his children. I wanted this production to really balance these two stories and for the audience to see the parallels,” says Jackson. “I also wanted Lear to have a young Fool (to be played by Harry Melling of the Harry Potter films). I thought it would be an interesting to have this bright, boyish presence who keeps pointing out the older man’s folly.”

Equally important to Jackson are the show’s visual elements. “I really felt I wanted something different, and that meant everything in it should be very elemental,” says Jackson. “Anything the actors touch should be real, which means we’re using things like real stone, real wood, real water. It also points out the fact that before the play begins, Lear has only walked on this beautiful palace floor, but once he steps out into the rest of the world, the ground literally becomes uneven.”

If Jackson’s approach means the cast has to get a bit dirty, so be it. “When Edgar (played by Sebastian Armesto) smears mud on his face, it’s real mud,” says Jackson. “And Frank is being very bold. We soak him with water, muddy him, and he gets right in there.”

Not surprisingly, Jackson is ecstatic to be working with Langella. “We met when he was doing Frost/Nixon over here and I think we started talking about this production when we met again in London about a year ago. We both wanted it to be quite simple when it needs to be, but emotional when it gets emotional. The idea is not to pull any punches. It’s not meant to be a polite production,” he says. “As you know, Frank is a truly red-blooded actor. He has fulfilled that obligation in terms of the play; he’s terrifying on stage. And the full company shares that sense of fearlessness.”

One thing Langella and Jackson found they had in common, especially as it relates to Lear, is their experiences as fathers. “Frank has talked to me about rearing children and the experience of growing older along with your children,” says Jackson. “My son is only seven, but I think a lot about the father-son relationship as well. It’s natural that the next generation is going to replace you, and they’re going to want what you already have. That’s true of Lear’s daughters, Goneril and Regan, as well as Edgar and Edmund. The only difference between then and now is what the next generation is willing to do to get it. These people live in a much more brutal world than we do, and Lear really is a brutal play.”

Brian Scott Lipton was editor-in-chief of TheaterMania.com and currently covers theater for IN New York, Where, Edgeonthenet.com, TDF Stages, TheaterPizzazz.com, and Cititour.com.

Reprinted from Dec 2013 BAMbill.