Play: King Lear @ UCLA Royce Hall - October 19, 2007

Sir Ian McKellen as King Lear & Sylvester McCoy as Lear's Fool

After finding out about this great line up of plays running at UCLA, how could I NOT go to this one??? I'm so glad I saw Black Watch, and I wish I could see it again, but why not see another top-notch play?

Yes, I mostly wanted to see this to see Sir Ian McKellen perform live on stage.. but who wouldn't? This was the first professional Shakespearean play I've seen, and I've probably started out with the best! The Royal Shakespeare Company has come to LA for I think their last stop of their world tour.

Since I was up in the balcony towards the back, it was hard for me to understand a lot of the things the actors said in the play. At first I didn't know what was going on because of this. I admittedly never read this particular play. However, I moved to some empty seats where I could see and hear much better. It was surreal to see the legendary actor perform live. It was also a surprise to see Sylvester McCoy in the role of the clown. I was like, "Is that the seventh Doctor?!?" :P

The whole cast was so good. The set was beautiful, and the production was of very high quality. It's amazing how these actors can remember their long monologues and act their butts off. It's also pretty amazing that they can project their voices without any microphones in a big theater after they're out of breath after a sword fight or something. Quality performances as I should have expected from the RSC.

Sir Ian was awesome. I enjoyed his performance along with the whole cast. It was funny to see some audience members jump up and raise their hands in front of their faces in shock when King Lear pulls down his trousers. I saw the sign outside of the theater that said there was brief nudity, so I was expecting it. I don't want to show off and say I'm more mature.. but I just did. XP

Anyway, it was special to see some famous actors such as Sir Ian, Sylvester McCoy, and William Gaunt performing live. After the show, I walked past Jamie Lee Curtis and Warren Beatty as everyone was leaving the theater too. ;D

-Photo by Manuel Harlan