King Lear visit
On Tuesday 14 January, 42 pupils and eight teachers were fortunate enough to attend the opening night of Skyfall director Sam Mendes’ production of King Lear at the National Theatre.
With the iconic Simon Russell-Beale, who first played Lear as a 17 year old student at Clifton College, heading up the modernized interpretation, the cast included names like Sherlock’s Tom Brooke, Gavin and Stacey’s Adrian Scarborough, Death Comes to Pemberley’s Anna Maxwell Martin and Olivia Vinall – cousin of our very own Jess Porter.
Mendes’ bleak stage, marked by the regular revolutions of an enormous cross, successfully conveyed the sense of desolation and darkness of Shakespeare’s greatest tragedy. Putting aside some minor technical difficulties (it was the first night after all), the production was profoundly evocative, pushing the audience from laughter to shock and tears. Everyone had a fantastic evening and left London’s South Bank thoroughly inspired and enthused.
