Mar 24th

The Gods Weep

By Katherine Hayes
 
It's difficult to view Dennis Kelly's current RSC production at the Hamsptead theatre without Shakespeare's King Lear crowding the mind. More so since the Young Vic production with Pete Postlethwaite used the 'modern' take and combat fatigues to boot.

 Kelly's version is more sweary, so much so even Kelly's characters remark to each other how much they cuss in the course of  a conversation.
 
There are some standout performances; Jonathan Slinger as the power crazed Richard, Nikki Amuka-Bird as insurance advisor Beth who's life is destroyed by corporate machinations and  Jeremy Irons as Colm, the big boss who divides his  empire and suffers the consequences.
 
It's a  dark and foreboding study  of descent into madness.  Maria Aberg's competent direction combined with Naomi Dawson's design creates this corporate world where deceit is currency and deals are done in the shadows.
 
Not a production for the fainthearted.

The Gods Weep
Till April 3
http://www.hampsteadtheatre.com/page/3031/The+Gods+Weep/79
Tube: Swiss Cottage
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