Núria Espert is Lear, directed by Lluís Pasqual. Who else could portray Shakespeare’s most tormented and fascinating king?

If only love were enough...
Someone once wrote that King Lear is the secular – that is, the human – incarnation of the biblical Book of Lamentations and the Book of Job combined. Every time we, as viewers, are party to the mishaps of the old king, our heart breaks as we bear witness to the misery and grandeur that can simultaneously dwell within our souls. Art – or in this case, theatre – makes us aware of this grandeur and misery, yet in our daily lives, the same scenes pass by unnoticed, so close that we could smell them rot. We are so used to surrounding ourselves with clichés and platitudes that cloak the concrete, palpable realities of our lives from us. Yet this cathedral of theatre and poetry puts a truth we struggle to accept front and center, true and terrifying: love is what keeps us – and perhaps our lives – going, and without it, we would be sterile, orphans. Without a doubt. Yet love does not stamp out cruelty, vileness or indifference, which also reside at the very core of our souls, and which can imbue us – and our parents and children, brothers and sisters – with unbearable sorrow.
When a theatre decides to tackle the artistic challenge and responsibility that is King Lear, that means the theatre – artists and audience alike – has grown up. Even if only for a short time, they have left behind the fear of staring their true selves in the face, an image bluntly unmasked by one of the greatest dramatic poets of all times, the bard we turn to every time we want to confirm what we humans are made of.
Lluís Pasqual