Bromsgrove Advertiser, 26th June 2016, Alan Woolcroft

One of the iconic names of the stage will be appearing in a production of King Lear at Malvern’s Festival Theatre this week.

A four-time Olivier award nominee, Michael Pennington has played numerous roles with the Royal Shakespeare Company in a career spanning over 50 years, and was co-founder of the English Shakespeare Company.

Hir recent notable performances have been Edgar in Strindberg’s The Dance of Death, at the Gate Theatre, John of Gaunt in Richard II (RSC), and as Anthony Blunt in Alan Bennett’s Single Spies at the Rose Theatre Kingston.

He played the role of Lear to great acclaim at the Shakespeare Centre New York in 2014 and now this new production will see him play the role in the UK for the first time.

He said: “I am very proud to be on the road playing King Lear in Max Webster’s brilliant production with a tremendous cast, criss-crossing the country in this greatest of all Shakespeare’s dramas. It’s a modern morality tale whose themes are as relevant today as when the play was written. Whether you’ve seen the play many times or never, we can promise you a terrific evening.”

William Shakespeare’s epic tragedy focuses on an ageing tyrant’s decision to divide his kingdom which subsequently tears his family apart, sparks catastrophic civil war and destroys all that he has.

Driven from his home, King Lear endures madness and great suffering as he battles a great storm. Yet with madness he finds reason, after betrayal he discovers loyalty and through his suffering a better world emerges.

Return to King Lear