Review: Lear – Pitlochry Festival Theatre

This is Lear as Shakespeare wrote it, in all its gory, bloody horror, but this production stars Maureen Beattie as Lear – the mother of her three daughters, not the father. It’s absolutely brilliant, both in concept and in production.

We are used, nowadays, to gender switches and being gender- and/or colour-neutral in casting. It sometimes seems forced and doesn’t always work. I took a friend to see Lear some years ago, and she left at the interval as she didn’t know the play, found the language difficult to tune into and couldn’t understand why the Duke of somewhere or another was a woman. It made no sense to her, and I doubt she’ll go back to another Shakespeare as long as she lives.

I, on the other hand, utterly love Shakespeare and have made it my life’s work to see all of his plays in person if I can. Henry VIII seems to be the most elusive. I have seen so many iterations and variations on each theme, and yet I never tire of the issues under scrutiny, which still resonate. We don’t gouge people’s eyes out as a matter of course any more – I hope – but ungrateful offspring and warring families, to say nothing of our treatment of the elderly, especially those who are in failing health, physically or mentally, are still very moot.

Striking Set Design and Atmospheric Staging

Enough of the philosophy and back to this mesmerising production, directed by Finn den Hertog and designed by Emma Bailey. The set design is striking right from the start.

A modern-day castle, all wrapped up as if the household has moved on to its city dwelling for the season, fills the stage for the most part and becomes wasteland and forest by the addition of large branches and nigh-on full cut-down trees. There’s some clever use of the stage trap door and a recess at the back of the stage for exits and entrances and some very bad weather.

The costumes are mainly modern-day hunting lodge attire – lots of tweediness but no tartan, thankfully. But it does all feel very Scottish, especially given that almost all of the actors are Scottish. Maureen Beattie’s Lear is rather Thatcher-esque in dress, though I suspect Maggie would have eschewed the wig: it was the only inauthentic piece of the whole thing.

The music is fabulous, composed by Brìghde Chaimbeul. We are told in the programme that most recently she ‘brings in influence from ambient, avant-garde and electronic music’. I’m delighted because it worked perfectly in this atmospheric, somewhat spooky world.

A Tremendous Ensemble Cast

All of the cast are tremendous, but I would give special mentions to Maureen Beattie, Mercy Ojelade (Kent), Reuben Joseph (Edmund) and Forbes Masson (Gloucester), though Ailsa Davidson’s Fool and Dylan Read’s Edgar stood out too.

Reuben Joseph is the only real ‘baddie’ in my list and starts as a bit of a likeable rogue. Could it be that the contemptible, dishonourable parts were less stand-out because they are impossible to like?

Cordelia (also Ailsa Davidson) doesn’t feature heavily in this very long play (three hours here), but her performance, particularly towards the end, was truly affecting. Regan (Lindsay Campbell) is a complete bitch, and Goneril (Jenny Hulse) is no better. They showed their true sisterly colours when vying for Edmund’s affections and not having to put their mother up in their own homes.

Oswald (Ali Craig) is a nasty heavy and plays him with swagger and disdain. Albany (Beruce Khan) doesn’t have a great deal to do or say, and I have to say he felt a bit lost amongst all the others. His part is initially passive, but the man who steps up to the plate at the end to try to bring some order to the chaos seems somewhat lacking here. Khan’s diction was not always clear – not the Mackem accent, I hasten to add – which sadly didn’t help.

Maureen Beattie’s Masterful Performance as Lear

But back to the big guns. I can’t praise Maureen Beattie highly enough. She really was incredible, especially as we witnessed her initial irascibility plunge into dishevelled dementia or madness of a sort. She was simply stunning and utterly believable.

Most of Shakespeare’s plays rely on deception, mistaken identity, lies and mistrust, and it can be hard for modern audiences to accept that seemingly baseless accusations are taken seriously and to extremes. In Lear, it sometimes seems unlikely that the King banishes his favourite daughter for her lack of sycophancy. In this production, Lear’s capriciousness is entirely understandable, as Beattie has already demonstrated her character’s instability and entitlement.

Beattie is at the height of her powers when her Lear is in the depths of hers, and it is movingly poignant, especially when she is brought on stage in a wheelchair. I think the whole audience wept, and there were still a lot of tissues in evidence at the end of the play as the theatre emptied.

Beattie is radiant, with the most beautiful eyes imaginable, and it’s to her credit that her beauty shone through most when she was divested of her finery, her hair was ‘undone ’, and she wore a veritable crown of thorns. The beauty was that of the character whom we could have loathed but in fact, empathised with, despite being the architect of her own downfall. That’s down to Finn den Hertog’s direction and adaptation but is embodied by Beattie.

Visceral Dynamics and Compelling Subplots

Mercy Ojelade was absolutely terrific as Kent, particularly once she was in disguise. She was a brave, spirited, loving and ever-present helpmeet to Lear and really is the backbone of this terrible tale.

Not for the first time in this production, she made me ponder the power that having women in the central parts brought to the play. The mother-daughter relationships seemed all the more heinous for breaking the mould of what those relationships are meant to be like. Worse to betray a mother than a father? I don’t know, but my reactions were visceral. And the unflinching loyalty of Kent, played by a woman, also brought a different nuance to that relationship. I loved it.

Forbes Masson is, of course, no stranger to Shakespeare, and his performance here confirmed both why that is so and that his experience brings so much to this new adaptation. His Gloucester is a bit of an old fuddy-duddy, easily taken in, and the story of his betrayal mirrors that of Lear’s downfall. In his case, it involves sons, not daughters, so we still have that dynamic to compare.

The eye-gouging scene is excruciating – I told myself it was play-acting, but I still couldn’t watch – and his blind wandering through the wilderness with the son he cannot see and therefore cannot recognise either is heartbreaking. Edgar (Dylan Read)’s Poor Tom is an absolute transformation in all of its Calibanesque deformity.

And not forgetting our Fool (Ailsa Davidson). She was spectacular and her ‘speaking truth to power’ totally believable. Her costume and hobby horse helped, but Davidson made the part her own, and I was mesmerised yet again.

An Unforgettable Production

All in all, it was some performance. I felt wrung out at the end and found it hard to sleep when I got to bed a little after midnight. Scenes and lines were playing in my head the next morning too, and I don’t think I’ll forget this Lear as long as I live (or at least haven’t descended into madness).

I commend Alan Cumming for recognising that a Shakespeare per decade just isn’t good enough; Finn den Hertog for his foresight and vision; the cast for giving the play its due and everyone involved a huge well done and an even bigger thank you. I couldn’t have dreamt that this Lear was going to be this good. Outstanding just doesn’t feel a good or big enough accolade for this production.

Featured Image: Maureen Beattie in Lear credit – Tommy Ga-Kyen Wan

Lear will run at the Pitlochry Festival Theatre until August 1st, 2026. For tickets or more information, click here: https://www.pitlochryfestivaltheatre.com/whats-on/lear/