King Lear

King Lear

David Hayman heads an impressive ensemble cast in a gripping production of Shakespeare's play

26 Apr 2012

Incredibly, it’s 33 years since David Hayman appeared in a Shakespeare play at the Citz, and his casting here, as the Bard’s aged monarch, raging against the dying of the light, provides a link to that spell in the 1970s-1990s when the Glasgow…

David Hayman to play King Lear at Citizens Theatre

Dominic Hill directs Scottish production of Shakespeare

21 Mar 2012

It’s been 33 years since David Hayman last performed at the Citizens Theatre. ‘Backstage is very different so I now need a chaperone to get me from A to B.’ he laughs. Widely recognised for his role as DCS Walker in ITV’s Trial and Retribution, Hayman…

Preview of 2012 - King Lear

New Citizens Theatre boss Dominic Hill brushes up his Shakespeare

6 Jan 2012

Take on the Citizens Theatre and you take on the past. Any artistic director of the Glasgow institution can only be aware of the building’s history. Opened as the Royal Princess’s Theatre in 1848, it became home to James Bridie’s Citizens’ company in…

King Lear

Engaging spectacle gives Shakespeare a Jingju interpretation at 2011 EIF

14 Aug 2011

Two artforms, alike in their lengthy traditions and explorations of familial and martial subjects but divergent in their aesthetic, are brought together by their areas of commonality. Wu Hsing-kuo (Contemporary Legend Theatre) adapts aspects of…

Theatre, music and dance highlights from the 2011 Edinburgh International Festival

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, Semiramide and King Lear among picks

7 Jul 2011

The Edinburgh International Festival (EIF) has been a benchmark for quality and innovation in the performing arts since its inauguration nearly 65 years ago. This year artistic director Jonathan Mills builds his programme around the multi-faceted…

The best upcoming theatre shows in Scotland for Spring 2011

A guide to the unmissable shows in theatreland til June

4 Mar 2011

Girl X On tour, 4 March–20 April Brilliant Belgian director Pol Heyvaert, who directed Aalst for the National Theatre of Scotland, hooks up with Glasgow actor Robert Softley for a provocative play based on the controversial case of Ashley X, a girl…

Sir Derek Jacobi ready to tackle role of King Lear

Michael Grandage director builds production around 72-year-old actor

24 Feb 2011

‘You would never do Lear without an actor in mind,’ says Michael Grandage. The outgoing director of London’s Donmar Warehouse has had just such an actor in mind for several years. He has built his acclaimed production of Shakespeare’s great tragedy…

King Lear

Botanic Gardens, Glasgow, until Sat 10 Jul

2 Jul 2010

As is so often the case with outdoor performances, an audience’s ultimate enjoyment of this first show in Bard in the Botanics’ 2010 season might be more a matter of projection than performance. While some of the parts require – and are afforded – a…

King Lear, Queen Margaret, Twelfth Night and Titus Andronicus - Bard in the Botanics 2010

24 Jun 2010

‘Every new play I’m approaching is what keeps me excited by this job,’ says Gordon Barr, artistic director of Bard in the Botanics, Glasgow’s outdoor Shakespeare festival. ‘Each of Shakespeare’s plays brings new challenges and opportunities because…

I, Lear

16 Aug 2007

Two bumbling actors (Andrew Jones and Ciaran Murtagh) share their wisdom of the theatre, including tricks of the trade such as Marmite up the nostrils for upset and spray cream foaming at the mouth for anger. They teach us techniques from the likes of…