King Lear Review: an earthy kingdom, littered with inconsistencies
- Jack Davey
- 11 minutes ago
- 3 min read
04 September 2026 | 19:00 | Crucible Theatre, Sheffield
⭐⭐⭐ | PR - Invite
The last time we saw Shakespeare on the Crucible Theatre stage was during Robert Hastie's 2022 season, with Much Ado About Nothing (a co-production with Ramps On The Moon). So it feels appropriate to switch from comedy, bringing the mighty tragedy King Lear to Sheffield.
Titas Halder directs this earthy and visually bleak production, sharing aesthetic similarities with Yaël Farber's minimalism. Theatre and screen royalty Ian McDiarmid stars in the title role, as the portrait of an assertive yet sympathetic Lear.
The story of 'King Leir' originates in Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae (c.1136), mythicising a British monarch that ruled in 8th-century BC, long before Christianity had entered Britain. Shakespeare's play frames Lear's later years, when he decides to pass his kingdom on to his three daughters. The youngest refuses to give into vanity, and is banished by her father. However his eldest and middle daughters shower their father with affection until they claim their inheritance, then strip Lear of his home, his authority, and eventually his sanity.
Now onto Halder's vision, containing inconsistencies that prevent a fully cohesive production. Following the ancient folklore of Leir, Richard Kent's design places the actors on a stone circle surrounded by soil, which is nature-driven and inspired by paganism of the era. It is evidently atmospheric, as if we could be on the moon in moments, though it tends to favour style over substance.
Ian McDiarmid makes for quite the enigmatic King Lear, opening as a vindictive monarch that excels in his cruelty, if sometimes he swallows his words in sombre lines. His cynical comic delivery is equally fascinating, building an adoring fatherly relationship with the Fool. Played by Max Revell, the Fool is a unique role with a hip-hop quality of movement, full of life and elastic physicality, acting as 'Lear's shadow'. When the King is battered by the storm in Act Three, McDiarmid delivers the text while Revell writhes in the pain of the violent winds and thunder, moving in ways the 82-year-old McDiarmid could not.
Bizarrely however, the Fool first enters dressed like MC Hammer with drop-crotch trousers, trainers and an Adidas tracksuit top (further designed by Kent). And this is amongst the unusual collection of costumes from tonight: the dukes appear in non-specific war attire, Lear with his trusty leather coat, the occasional ruff, and Katie Wimpenny's headstrong Goneril in a full-black regency gown. Along with the obscurities of the set design, there lies a further disconnect where characters seem to belong in different worlds.
Justina Kehinde gives the most masterful performance of the evening as middle daughter Regan, holding such well-rounded enunciation in every word, and always acting with clear intention. Once she is widowed in Act Four, the skin on Regan's hands and neck stain blue as she becomes metaphorically tarnished by her corruption, and the symbolism is visually remarkable.
Running at 2hrs and 55m, there are a number of prolonged moments without text, notably in the second half, which cause the play to feel particularly lengthy. Soundscapes fill the silence in almost every scene (composed by Sarah Angliss) which resemble ominous drum vibrations, and howls/shrieks in transitions. King Lear is one of Shakespeare's tragedies that is devoid of anything supernatural, though there is something imminently mystical about Halder's concept.
The stage images created tonight are some that will stick in my head for months to come, particularly Ryan Day's immense lighting design in the final act. Though where we are easily impressed by stagecraft, the blocking falls flat. A handful of performers will enter, stand on the perimeter of the circular platform and rarely move, before exiting and repeating the same again, resulting in a cycle of scenes that are static, text-reliant and lacking in action.
Following five-star triumphs (The Ladies Football Club) and more recently two-star ventures (Summer Holiday), King Lear sits firmly in the middle of Elizabeth Newman's tenure as Sheffield Theatres' Artistic Director. The scripting is largely faithful to Shakespeare's original, although Halder's direction takes an absurdist risk that doesn't always pay off.
If you're craving more, Twelfth Night will follow in the Crucible Theatre (10th - 31st Oct) as a double bill with the company of King Lear, directed by Jamie Glover and featuring Mathew Horne as Malvolio.
King Lear Tickets & Info: https://www.sheffieldtheatres.co.uk/events/king-lear
Twelfth Night Tickets & Info: https://www.sheffieldtheatres.co.uk/events/twelfth-night
