REVIEW - King Lear is a thrilling production with a brilliant balanced cast - a classic full of fire!

We were invited to the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester to see King Lear. Read what our reviewer, Lizzie Johnston thought about this excellent Shakespeare production...

The Royal Exchange is celebrating its 50th anniversary, and its production of King Lear has plenty of the theatrical flair I’ve come to expect from a night here. With family betrayals, heated arguments and inventive staging, there’s plenty to get caught up in. Three hours might sound like a long evening at the theatre, but the time flew by as these two families made an extraordinary mess of their lives.

King Lear follows an aging king who decides to divide his kingdom between his three daughters, asking each to declare how much she loves him before deciding what they will receive. Goneril and Regan give him the flattery he wants, but his youngest daughter, Cordelia, refuses to play along and is cast out. Having given away his power, Lear soon discovers that the treatment he expects from his daughters is very different from what he receives. Meanwhile, Gloucester has his own family troubles, with his son Edmund plotting against his brother Edgar. There’s plenty of betrayal to go around, and neither father is particularly good at recognising who deserves his trust.

Matthew Dunster’s adaptation cuts Shakespeare’s classic down into a thrilling show, with enough action, family tension and heated relationships to keep you caught up in what’s happening. The modern look and feel sit comfortably alongside the original story, without distracting from what makes it such a powerful tragedy. Even if you don’t catch every phrase or understand the finer details of each exchange, the performances make the meaning clear, so there’s no need to arrive armed with your old English revision notes.

There’s a real Manchester feel to it too, with Dunster and David Threlfall returning to a theatre that has played a part in both their careers. That connection comes through in the production itself, which makes full use of the Exchange’s space and has the confidence and inventiveness I’ve come to expect from its shows. It feels very much at home here, making it a fitting choice for the theatre’s 50th anniversary celebrations.

The Royal Exchange’s theatre in the round works so well for these tense family scenes. With the audience surrounding the action, there’s a closeness that makes the arguments feel uncomfortable in a very familiar way, even when the people involved are fighting over a kingdom. You can watch the reactions of those around whoever is speaking, which gives you more of a sense of the relationships and makes the quieter moments worth paying attention to.

Anna Fleischle’s set is dominated by huge hanging chain curtains above a dark floor threaded with gold lines. They’re striking before the performance has even started, but really come into their own once the action gets going, lowering to enclose parts of the stage and create distinct spaces for different scenes. Paired with Lucy Carter’s lighting, they help change the feel of the space without needing a completely new set each time. The light catches the chains differently as it shifts from warm gold to cold blue, making the same stage feel welcoming one moment and exposed the next.

Cat Fuller’s costumes also move away from the royal robes you might expect, with sharp suits and elegant eveningwear giving the opening scenes the feel of a wealthy family gathering. That polished appearance becomes a distant memory as Lear’s circumstances change, with his increasingly dishevelled clothes reflecting how far he has fallen. As for the three sisters, I just wanted to know where they’d got their outfits from, particularly Regan’s feather skirt.

It’s a real ensemble piece, and even with several bold characters sharing the stage, there’s a lovely balance across the cast. Each actor has room to shine without anyone overshadowing the others, and the relationships are clearly drawn throughout. With two families and plenty of shifting loyalties to follow, it would be easy to lose track, but I was never left wondering who someone was or how they fitted into the story.

David Threlfall (Shameless, Hangmen, Don Quixote) is excellent as Lear, particularly in the way he shows his growing confusion without allowing it to take over every part of the character. You can still see the anger, hurt and affection beneath it, and those changes in emotion give his performance real depth. His behaviour becomes increasingly unpredictable, but there’s always a sense of the person behind it, making his decline all the more convincing. Lear can be frustrating, especially when his pride gets in the way of listening to the people who care about him, but Threlfall makes his vulnerability just as clear. 

Jonathan Slinger (Richard III, Juniper Blood, Waiting for Godot) is brilliant as Gloucester. His family’s story is just as painful to watch, and he brings real weight to the consequences of Gloucester’s misplaced trust. The scene in which he is blinded is particularly brutal, with his performance making the suffering difficult to watch. Jason Done (Waterloo Road, Brassic, Macbeth) is equally impressive as Kent, whose continued loyalty to Lear gives us someone to root for as so many others pursue their own interests.

As Lear’s daughters, Nadine Shah (A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Virginia Woolf’s Night and Day), Lisa Diveney (The Homecoming, The Seagull, Donkey Heart) and Isobel Akuwudike (The Lady from the Sea, Hostage, The Road Trip) play Goneril, Regan and Cordelia. There’s a recognisable sibling dynamic between them, with the older two finding common ground while Cordelia stands apart. Goneril and Regan’s shared frustrations with their father bring them together, but that sisterly alliance becomes increasingly strained as their own ambitions take over.

Paddy Stafford (The Battle, Mojo, Too Much World All at Once) as Edmund and Tom Varey (Hamnet, The Waves, The Glass Menagerie) as Edgar are equally good as Gloucester’s sons. Their storyline gives us another family being pulled apart by ambition and dishonesty, with the brothers’ opposing positions adding to the tension. Their scenes keep Gloucester’s family troubles just as absorbing as Lear’s, giving both stories an equal place in the production.

King Lear is a thrilling anniversary production that makes the most of everything the Royal Exchange does so well. A brilliantly balanced cast and inventive staging bring Shakespeare’s family tensions to life, making three hours fly by. A classic full of fire, with Manchester at its heart.

WE SCORE KING LEAR...

King Lear is on at the Royal Exchange Theatre until Saturday 15th November 2026.


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