Maureen Beattie leads a modern-dress, gender-swapped version of Shakespeare's King Lear at Pitlochry Festival Theatre, focusing on family dynamics rather than the political decline of a mighty ruler. The production, directed by Finn Den Hertog, runs until 1 August.
Opening Scene Sets Tone
Beattie's Lear enters with deliberate forgetfulness, striding on stage, catching herself, and exiting through another door. Later, she struggles to remember Goneril's name. In the second half, she is slumped in a wheelchair, speaking with painful deliberation, highlighting the domestic tragedy.
This Lear is sharp when dividing her kingdom among daughters Goneril (Jenny Hulse), Regan (Lindsey Campbell), and Cordelia (Ailsa Davidson). She expects respect but reacts to Cordelia's defiance with obstinate disappointment rather than regal fury, suggesting a history of clashes.
Family Focus Over Political Grandeur
Den Hertog's modern-dress production is set in a country pile with paintings off the wall and exposed wiring, designed by Emma Bailey. The focus on family dynamics comes at the expense of wider public tragedy. This Lear is straight-talking, not grandiose, and her madness is a metaphor for domestic decline rather than a symbol of a fallen monarch.
Forbes Masson relishes the role of Gloucester, performing with wit and gusto, but his devotion to Lear seems unearned. Similarly, the scheming of Edmund (Reuben Joseph) and the sisters lacks definition, leaving the drama brittle rather than tragic.
According to the review, the underplaying of plot points and lack of relationship definition undermine the tragedy's impact, making it feel personal and sad rather than seismic.
