Actors acting

It never ceases to amaze me that a director and a group of actors can take the same text and come up with so many variations, bringing out qualities that other productions did not concentrate so much on.

For the second time in as many months the dashingly handsome young matinee idol actor Toby Osmond (people will talk, which at my age is always a bonus) took me to see THE DRESSER at the Duke of York's theatre, a work I know very well. Having co-written and published the book RONALD HARWOOD'S ADAPTATIONS I had studied the play and the first film in detail as it is a major chapter in the book. 

I have seen both filmed versions several times, the Tom Courtenay/ Albert Finney first one and the Ian McKellan/ Anthony Hopkins one.

However this was the first time I had seen it on stage. This Reece Shearsmith/Ken Stott production highlighted parts of the play I had not noticed before and with an impressive set effortlessly showing both backstage on front of house. One of the films does take Norman's (the dresser) description of what happened to Sir earlier that day and actually shows you what happened but other than that both recorded for posterity productions are very faithful to the play. THE DRESSER is a must see for everyone who has ever "trod the boards" and I would say the best play ever written about the life of a thesp. But then I am biased.

The play that Sir is presenting within THE DRESSER is KING LEAR the Mount Everest of acting roles for everyone who plays Shakespeare's king. Even putting at 1940's hammy Donald Wolfit spin on it Stott does remarkably well playing him as a grumpy old man.

Last year I saw Don Warrington breathtakingly brilliant portrayal (currently on BBC iPlayer) 

Then Phil Davis  starred magnificently in a short film taking a couple of scenes from KING LEAR and this time the setting was a modern day old people's hospital/ home.

All three of these LEAR's used the same word's, in the same order (I think) and yet each came up with three very different variations.

Fascinating.