When the 50th anniversary Homecoming programme for the Royal Exchange was first announced, arguably the most eagerly anticipated production in the line-up was this one.
Director Matthew Dunston and actor David Threlfall working together on this great Shakespearian tragedy; a mouth-watering prospect.
The problem of high expectation is that the reality has to live up to it. The Royal Exchange has never been a theatre to simply play it safe, to just produce a solid telling of any kind of story. And this production is no exception.
The good news is that, in the main, those great expectations we had are very much met in this stylised and even sexy Shakespeare.
It's a story many will be familiar with - even if it is half remembered English Lit lessons in school way back when. The ageing Lear, an absolute monarch for decades, divides his kingdom between two of his three daughters and banishes the third, ironically the daughter that loves him the most.
That is the catalyst for everyone's world to fall apart; Lear abandoned and rapidly losing his grip on reality; the elder daughters Goneril and Regan plotting and scheming at the prospect of power. With the breakdown of the regime there are plenty willing to take advantage.
Basically the world's in a bit of a mess (sound familiar?); a savage look at how power corrupts, how family dynamics are often unstable and how controlling elites can easily lose touch with reality.
Designer Anna Fleischle wonderfully adds to the feeling of turmoil and conflict with a deceptively simple set. The cracked floor, copying the Japanese Kintsugi pottery style where smashed objects are joined together with gold, symbolises the fractures in the various family dynamics and also hints at a troubled world.
Large beaded metal curtains rise and fall acting as room dividers, prison cells and even a hospital. The lighting is moody; the special effects are fabulous. Lear caught on the moors in a violent thunderstorm which prompts the famous 'Blow winds and crack your cheeks' speech is visceral; the rain pouring down and some of the most realistic thunder cracks your ever likely to hear on stage.
Set in a relatively modern world, the opening immediately challenges the audience. It's a party for the ultra-rich where disco hits blare out and Lear line dances to Shania Twain with everyone in their finery. It sets you up to think that the production is going to go down the Succession route, with Lear a Logan Roy-like patriarch.
But the party lights go off and the play begins. It's a modern setting which plays with ancient themes.
At the heart of it all is David Threlfall as Lear, returning to the Royal Exchange for the first time in 27 years. With fulsome white beard and hair swept back in a ponytail he's a striking figure.
His performance is fascinating; you cannot take your eyes off him as he slowly falls apart in front of your eyes. He's jittery, his facial expressions are perfectly timed. Clearly he's a despot and a fairly horrible human but Threlfall makes you feel sorry for him in spite of everything.
He rambles - and also takes on the role of the fool, arguably the voice of his conscience. Old age is taking its toll and he brilliantly conveys the frailty and fear of a man who has been used to total dominance in everything he has done reduced to a shambling wreck.
Occasionally small signs of Frank Gallagher, the totally appalling Shameless character sneak in there, but that's no bad thing. Lear is one of the most demanding of stage roles and Threlfall meets it head on.
Nadine Shah, who also composed the ethereal and unsettling score which accompanies the live action, is a quite terrifying Goneril. A compelling combination of poise and venom she's ruthless, using her wiles to charm servants and suitors to do her bidding.
Lisa Diveney's Regan is, on the surface, flirty and less intense but she's equally ambitious and becomes increasingly unhinged as time goes on.
Given that the performance space at the Royal Exchange is currently home to a costume exhibition, a word of the two sisters outfits. They are haute couture designed to thrill - power dressing with potential and really add to the piece as a whole.
There are some excellent supporting performances, notably Accrington-born Jonathan Slinger, an RSC regular, as Gloucester. The blinding scene is not for the squeamish and he perfectly captures the irony of a man seeing clearly about the truth once he has lost his sight. It's a moving bit of theatre.
Paddy Stafford enjoys the freedom he has been given as Edmund, Gloucester's illegitimate son, producing some of the show's biggest laughs (not something you get in many a Lear).
Tom Varney as Edgar slips easily into the character of one of the genuinely good people in the play, transforming wonderfully into Poor Tom as he flees for his life.
This is a Lear which doesn't pull its punches. Spoiler alert, it goes for the full tragic ending. Thankfully little of the text has been adapted or altered. Running to just over three hours with an interval it is not for those with a short attention space.
There are elements within the production which will divide audiences.
Edmund romping with a scantily clad servant is brilliantly choreographed but may prove too much for traditionalists. There are laughs where you don't expect them although that's more down to way a modern audience regards the play than a criticism. And great as David Threlfall's performance undoubtedly is, it's a Lear which leaves questions unanswered. But that's perhaps the point.
It's a production which has grown on me more and more after leaving the theatre and thankfully does live up to those initial expectations.
It runs until November 15. Details from www.royalexchange.co.uk
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