grumpy old man
I take it back--walking home after seeing a play at the West End is not always the best option, especially when you've just sat for four hours straight in a typical squeaky and heavily worn seat in those ancient theatres. This time it was the archetypal grumpy old men, the good old King Lear, which is in repertory at the RSC. Despite having the worst honey and ginger ice cream in the world, and sitting amongst a group of schoolchildren who clearly can't be bothered to feign interest in the bard, and thus have engaged themselves in sending text messages, the performance was actually quite good, if not enjoyable. Watching hours of the story of these two tragic, dysfunctional families can be emotionally exhuasting, if you've seen the scene when Cornwall plucks out Gloucester's eyeballs (with blood dripping) you'd know what I mean. The treatment of Lear in the beginning as a playful, or rather, silly old man is slightly strange; however, the melodramatic scene just before Cordelia's death was taken place should be more comical. Three dead female bodies lay still on stage, one would say Shakespeare's disorderly world speaks for itself.