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Actors Performance in the Play King Lear

Introduction

Shakespeare’s play King Lear, which was written in the 17th century, is about a royal family which violates their bonds in the name of authority and order. The play also highlights the battle for supremacy as the fundamental cause of conflict. In the play, the King is betrayed by his two daughters. Even though Lear comes to repent for what he had done and reunites with his daughter Cordelia, almost all the characters lose their lives at the end. The post-Medieval era’s catastrophic occurrences are seen through the lenses of envy, mistrust, and deception. This paper discusses Laurence Olivier as King Lear, Anna Calder-Marshall as Cordelia and John Hurt as the fool. It outlines the verbal and physical decisions the actors made throughout the play by demonstrating the clarity, rationality, and contentment of their decisions.

Laurence Olivier as King Lear

Olivier’s performance in the play led him to winning several awards. It was however his last performance of Shakespeare’s plays. He was 75 years old when he took up the demanding role but that did not stop him from performing tremendously. In the play, Olivier’s character was that of an ancient British king named King Lear. Everyone remained submissive to his commands during his tenure but when he transferred his authority to his two female offspring, Goneril and Regan, the situation, and changes for the worst.

Despite being older, Olivier’s vocal acting abilities were unimpaired. As he makes his first appearance in the play, he is dressed as a king with a white beard and white hair, having an image similar to that of God (Shakespeare 00:03:47-00:04:04). His skill due to experience and age fit the king’s character perfectly. He plays more intelligently, if not harder, like a seasoned athlete. Olivier’s Lear is a masterpiece of nuance, distracting yet pointless, empathetic and apprehensive. He is crazy when we see him after the storm, still has the ability to trap and skin a rabbit thanks to his kinesthetic memory (Shakespear, 01:09:51- 01:13:52). Then, when his vocal performance appears to have peaked, his aging body takes control. Once in Cordelia’s care, they shave off his beard, which makes him appear older visually. The viewers were left feeling both sympathetic and amazed that he could still carry Cordelia’s dead body using his old body (Shakespeare, 02:30:47- 02:35:20). Lear finally admits his shortcomings, saying, “When we are born, we grieve that we have come to this big stage of fools.” However, his revelation does not prevent him from becoming insane or dying.

Anna Calder-Marshall as Cordelia

Anna plays the part of the youngest daughter of King Lear, Cordelia. Shakespeare uses Cordelia as an illustration of kindness and morality. She declines to flatter her father during the ceremonial of relinquishing authority as the daughter of a King (Shakespeare, 00:06:19- 00:09:38). Despite the harsh treatment, Cordelia stays devoted to her father even after the monarch abdicates her royal rank. When King Lear decides to divide the land amongst his three daughters, Anna’s Cordelia is seen to question and pity herself since she knows that she cannot express her love for her father through words (Shakespeare, 00:03:41- 00:06:19). Even when Kent pleads on her behalf she does not utter a single word but watches as her father’s anger range into frustration. She was her father’s favorite daughter and the fact that she could not flatter him was ununderstandable to King Lear. The king of France soon comes and leaves with Cordelia.

Cordelia is not seen in the play again up until her soldiers rescue King Lear (Shakespear, 01:57:47- 02:01:29). Lear is taken to Cordelia’s camp where he begs for forgiveness. Anna Calder-Marshall brings out Cordelia’s kind, merciful and forgiving character as she kisses her father’s hands and face in his sleep. She weeps speaking of the betrayal and hardship her sisters put her father through. It is evident that she does not look back to when her father disowned her. Anna’s Cordelia shows much more commitment to her father because she listens intently as he speaks when they are at the verge of being put in prison (Shakespeare, 02:13:50- 02:14:11). Their father-daughter relationship is very evident as Lear speaks of how he does not mind being imprisoned with her. It was easier for Olivier to carry Anna portraying how Lear carried Cordelia’s dead body since Anna’s body was light and Olivier was old (Shakespeare, 02:30:47- 02:35:20) . Incase Anna weighed more I doubt Olivier would have been able to carry her and bring out that scene as perfectly as he did.

John Hurt as the Fool

John Hurt was a renowned English actor who focused in his career for over sixty years. He performed in many films with diverse roles. In this version of King Lear, he was the King’s fool. His performance only lasted for one scene. John Hurt brought out the fool’s character very well. His hair was not combed or well kept and his clothing had no nobility in them (Shakespeare, 00:40:39- 00:43:36). As much as his appearance was not pleasing, the king spoke to him like he would an adviser. The Fool appears to be more intelligent than the monarch, and their interactions are heartwarming, compassionate, and occasionally amazing. John Hurt’s voice as he plays the fool is almost that of a child who speaks his thoughts without being concerned of the consequences (Shakespeare, 00:40:39- 00:43:36). He makes King Lear identify his mistake in dividing his kingdom living him with nothing and also how wrong it was to disown Cordelia.

Conclusion

Through their performances, John Hurt, Anna Calder-Marshall, and Laurence Olivier help the audience better comprehend the characters. The decisions they make and the developments that take place as the play progresses reflect their characters well. The characters that the viewers see each have various motivations for carrying out their roles and are all intimately affected by its outcomes. This essay has shown how actor analysis may support and develop performance and performance theory. It also outlines how an actor’s comprehension of the play and its character types can widen and contribute to viewers understanding of it. In the end, the play is elaborated upon and given criticism in equal measure.

Works Cited

KING LEAR – Laurence Olivier and John Hurt – 1983 – TV – Remastered – 4K. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pdn07wgUrno