Playing Lear

The genesis for Playing Lear came when Oliver Ford Davies was asked to play Lear for the Almeida Theatre in 2002. The book is both an in-depth analysis of the play, in which the author looks at the many possible interpretations of both play and character, and a rehearsal diary in which we see the author¹s personal journey with the role, starting with his re-examination of the text and going through to the first night performance and beyond

Playing Lear with 16 pages of production photographs, and is written with great clarity and perception and with all the rigour and authority one would expect from a former academic and drama critic.

'Of the many books I have read about acting Shakespeare, this is one of the most intelligent and honest. It concentrates entirely on tackling the mountain of King Lear, following the progress from researching and questioning, rehearsals, performing and looking back on achievements ... and more questioning' - John Barton