Rey Lear

Saw one of Argentina's leading men, Alfredo Alcón, in Rey Lear last night, my first experience with Spanish Shakespeare. The overall effect was of listening to a rather good paraphrase. I could follow the language well, partly because I know the original, but also because it sounded like fairly plain-spoken, contemporary Spanish. There was a loss of poetry, but a resulting gain of speed. The how clipped along, clocking and in at an amazing 2.5 hours, with no intermission. I never thought I'd see an intermissionless Lear, and it certainly built up a head of steam that way.

The production was abstract modern, with an emphasis on harshly lit geometries, which makes sense for highlighting all of the play's parallels. The acting was overall quite good (minus a pandering and silly Edmund) and Alcón at 79 was a handsome and personable Lear. You could understand why people were staying loyal to him despite his mistaken love of surfaces. But given the common language, I was surprised to find the whole thing a little cold, not very affectionate, even in the end.

Slight disappointments on two of the famous bits: Lear stripping down to emulate Poor Tom (he didn't) and Lear carrying in the body of Cordelia at the end (he didn't). (A lackey carried her in.) I don't think all Lears need to go as far in the stripping as Ian McEwan did (who was clearly eager to show of his bod and...), but I do think that it's a great, revealing image, showing that Lear's obsession with appearances is giving way.

And speaking of bringing in Cordelia, here and there I think the adapting went too far. To translate one of the most famous cries in theater history:

"Howl, howl, howl, howl! O! you are men of stones..."

they came up with something that translates thusly:

"Howl! You men of stone. Howl!"

Now, I may be a little stiff in the ear in Spanish, but I can hear the difference between one "Howl" and four in a row. In this case, four is better.

The theater is a block from my apartment--I'd never noticed it before because it's buried inside a modern apartment building and above a mini-Shopping.