Performing King Lear: Gielgud to Russell Beale - Practical Actor

In this review of Performing King Lear: Gielgud to Russell Beale the bottom line is simple: this is a practitioner-focused study for actors, directors and serious students who want practical insight into staging Shakespeare's most demanding tragedy. Jonathan Croall's book is built on interviews with twenty distinguished actors, and the single biggest reason to pick it up is its emphasis on the reality of creation and performance rather than abstract criticism. For readers seeking direct commentary on acting choices, rehearsal processes and the lived challenges of playing Lear, this work provides candid, usable material.

Key Features

• Firsthand interviews: The book compiles unique interviews with twenty prominent actors, offering direct testimony about how they approached King Lear in performance.
• Practical focus: Croall centers the discussion on creation and performance, making the material immediately relevant to actors and directors rather than purely academic readers.
• Historical perspective: The text traces how staging of Lear has changed, highlighting increased frequency of productions in the last fifty years compared with earlier history.
• Range of interpretations: By covering performers from Gielgud to Russell Beale, the book showcases a variety of acting choices across recent decades.
• Contextual analysis: Croall links the play's bleak themes with modern sensibilities, helping readers understand why Lear resonates in harsher contemporary contexts.

Who It's For

The book is primarily aimed at professional and aspiring actors, directors and theatre practitioners who want concrete accounts of how leading actors have tackled Lear's complexity; its interview-driven approach rewards readers looking for rehearsal anecdotes and performance strategy. It will also suit theatre historians and graduate students who value practitioner testimony as a complement to textual criticism.

Readers seeking a line-by-line academic commentary, an annotated text of Shakespeare, or a lightweight general-audience introduction to the play should look elsewhere; Croall's emphasis on interviews and performance means the book assumes interest in theatrical practice rather than purely literary analysis.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Provides candid, firsthand perspectives from accomplished actors that illuminate practical acting decisions.
• Focuses on the process of creation and staging, making it a useful resource for rehearsal and production planning.
• Places modern performances in historical context to explain the play's growing prominence in recent decades.

Cons

• Not a detailed textual or academic commentary, so readers needing scholarly analysis may find it limited.

Specifications

Title	Performing King Lear: Gielgud to Russell Beale
Author	Jonathan Croall
Focus	Interviews with actors on staging and performance
Subject	Shakespeare's King Lear; performance and production
Scope	Twenty leading actors over the last forty years
Approach	Practical, creation- and performance-centered

Our Verdict

Performing King Lear is a valuable, practical resource for actors and directors who want to learn from the experience of distinguished performers. Its interview-led structure gives actionable insight into rehearsal choices and interpretation, making it good value for theatre practitioners; those seeking dense academic analysis should supplement it with a textual commentary.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the book include interviews with contemporary actors?
Yes, it gathers interviews spanning leading actors up to recent performers such as Russell Beale, covering roughly the last forty years.

Is this a textual edition of King Lear?
No, the book is not an annotated text; it concentrates on interviews and the practicalities of staging and performance rather than line-by-line commentary.

Who benefits most from this book?
Actors, directors and theatre students looking for firsthand accounts of how top performers approach Lear will derive the most direct benefit.