King Lear

Bristol Old Vic (fragment)

2000 may well go down in history as Bristol's Year of Lear. In the spring, director Andrew Hilton brought a stunning chamber version in the classical tradition to the Tobacco Factory, and now the Old Vic brightens a dull and windy autumn with a far more lavish contemporary production on its main stage.

Director Jan Sargent makes no bones about the parallels she is seeking to draw. Even without the programme's references to Saddam Hussein and Slobodan Milosevic, the fearsome array of Soviet-made military equipment littering the stage would undoubtedly make the point. Even Milosevic's downfall - which occurred long after this staging was conceived - fits neatly into the 'Lear as modern tyrant' motif. Just as Lear marches around the country accompanied by his knights, so Milosevic sits ensconced in his Belgrade villa guarded by his loyal special forces, plotting to regain his lost power. In this production, the conflict between Lear and his daughters is not a high class family squabble, but a political struggle which resonates throughout the kingdom. Blood is only thicker than water if it isn't blue.

The roots of this production lie in the Old Vic's earlier staging of Arthur Miller's The Price, which brought together actor Bill Wallis and director Jan Sergeant.