A Black King Lear in Manchester? Shakespeare just got the Royal Exchange treatment it desperately needed.
Don Warrington stars as the tragic monarch in this acclaimed version of the Shakespeare play recorded at the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester.
Acting
Warrington's Lear: thunderous, broken, utterly unforgettable.
Direction
Buffong's in-the-round staging makes collapse feel immediate.
Production
The Royal Exchange's circular space becomes a pressure cooker.
Director
Michael Buffong
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Warrington's casting as a Caribbean-descent Lear in Brexit-era Britain added explosive resonance to questions of inheritance, legitimacy and divided kingdoms.
The Royal Exchange's unique seven-sided thrust stage meant no audience member was ever more than nine rows from Warrington—every spittle, every tremor was visible.
GB
