What a night! After arriving at our beloved Milton Keynes icon it was a delight to see a sold out performance on what, to most people, would be a normal Tuesday evening. Not to us lucky lot who had a ticket to arguably Shakespeare’s most dramatic masterpiece: King Lear.

For those who are unfamiliar with the story of King Lear, it is of an ageing King who decides to dispose of his kingdom between his three daughters based on who can flatter him the most. Two of the three Goneril and Regan ply the king with compliments to ensure their share while the King's favourite daughter Cordelia refuses to offer false praise based on Lear’s status and offers what she feels is true love from a daughter to a father only. This of course has tragic consequences because she is banished leaving her evil sisters to plot the Kings downfall.

What made the night special was Derek Jacobi’s outstanding performance as the ageing Lear. It seemed he had sat alongside Shakespeare while he wrote the play and knew exactly what was required of him.

The audience travelled with Jacobi on a rollercoaster of emotion throughout the night and at 73 this genius had us eating out of the palm of his hand. The play’s chillingly realistic view of murder, politics, vengeance and human cruelty had the audience laughing and crying at the same time and against a backdrop of a few props the audience understood the point at every turn.

It would not be necessary to be a fan of Shakespeare or understand any of the original text to experience the greatness of this epic as the point was made crystal clear by a splendid cast consisting of the terrific Gina McKee who oozes elegant evil as Goneril and Justine Mitchell as the equally devastating Regan - both set on the destruction of Lear.

It has to be said that the whole cast were magnificent in bringing this tragedy together. The cast’s mixture of humour and sarcasm at times made the audience feel sorry for the villains as well as the victims of, what is portrayed as, very dark subject matter.

I urge anyone who can still get a ticket to do their best to see this production while it is in Milton Keynes. If you think you would not enjoy Shakespeare, think again, this is the one for you.

Finally, another big thank you to Milton Keynes Theatre for another spectacular production and please welcome Sir Derek back again soon for us to enjoy some more of him.

Diane Merner

16/03/2011