THE RENDITION MEETS DANNY SAPANI
Regarded as one of Shakespeare's top two tragedies, King Lear is a remarkable play delving into the disintegration of a monarch. The titular character, King Lear, finds himself at a pivotal moment in his life, confronted with decisions that will shape the destiny of his kingdom. Shakespeare intricately explores themes of power, loyalty, betrayal, familial relationships, and madness in this poignant yet harsh narrative.
Danny Sapani, familiar with the Almeida stage (previously performing in Hymn by Lolita Chakrabarti), steps into the challenging role of King Lear. Under the direction of Yaël Farber, the ensemble brings their interpretation of this tragedy to the audience, aiming to provoke thought and reveal the depths of Lear's existence.
In our conversation, we delve into the initial interactions, individual perspectives, and the bonds forged among actors during the rehearsal process to create King Lear.
“We are hugely affected by what our leaders do and the directions that they take. Whatever state of mind that they might be in becomes the order of the day.”
QUESTION: What was your initial encounter with the tale of King Lear?
Danny Sapani: I performed the play at drama school and I have the script, the published version of the play. One of the actors who played King Lear, his notes are still inside the script that I have which is quite funny. I remember being in that production playing Cornwall.
Since then, I think I’ve seen it one other time, I saw Pete Postlethwaite play it in the Rupert Goold production (the artistic director at the Almeida). It was really by chance, while we were doing Hymn, somebody came to see the play and said “I’d be really excited to see Danny Sapanis’ Lear”. Rupert and I sort of laughed because somebody else had mentioned it as well. It’s not a part that I initially thought I was the right age for, but I think that was to do with my own ignorance about the play. Rupert and I were looking for a play to do, he was not that keen on doing King Lear again, since he had already done it with the late Pete Postlethwaite.
He then asked whether I would be interested in working with Yaël Farber, we had previously worked together on Les Blancs in 2016. I said yes I would definitely work with her again and here we are. Initially I thought, ‘oh my God, what have I done’, but with conversations with Yaël thinking about why this play is so important, what makes it quite pertinent to the struggles of politics and family and the sort of impending crisis moment with the environment, we felt it was good to do this play now.
QUESTION: How did your original beliefs about performing this play evolve over time?
Danny Sapani: I guess I read it, and it felt like a huge mountain to climb - a huge challenge.
There was something in play, something in the journey of all the characters and how they reflected the central character's mind. His madness.
We put trust in our leaders, we put so much trust in our leaders and his journey is a reflection of the state of the nation. His mental state is the chaos that he then embodies; it's the chaos that we are living in one shape or form. We are hugely affected by what our leaders do and the directions that they take. Whatever state of mind that they might be in becomes the order of the day and I think that it’s just very interesting.
So I felt like it was something that needed to be told, and personally it just felt like a huge challenge. I did watch other versions because I also felt like I was part of a cannon. It’s interesting I couldn’t find any other performers of colour that had played this role in this country, apart from maybe 2 and then 1 in the states; (so) it seemed to become a role that had become a sort of bastion - a great white British Shakespearian from 50 onwards, and I felt like it's time.. It's time.
QUESTION: How did you tackle the preparation for such a demanding role based on depth and length of the play?
Danny Sapani: I’ve played Macbeth and by comparison that is much shorter, Othello too. Maybe Anthony and Cleopatra, Caesar and the Roman plays are close in length, but (this) feels like a long one, it feels like a lot happens.Initially there was decisions to be made about what cuts to make to still get the meat of the story without some of the excess, which is very particular in terms of the way in which this play has been performed over the years.
It’s collected a lot of excess on that route; so entrances and exits have excess attached to them. The way that we have staged it, in a space that is very intimate but also has the opportunity to fall for epic theatre at the Almeida - some of those entrances and exits are so immediate that you don't need somebody to tell you that there is somebody coming.
There is a lot of repetition in this play as well. It is a play that I think is searching for answers and sometimes those questions are repeated because the playwright, or the characters are still searching for the same answer. So, we have to be quite specific about those cuts, because with some of those cuts, you take something out and the whole thing unravels.
But. I think what we’ve got is still a long evening, it doesn't feel long because we tell the story in a very driven way. There are two ways you can tell the story: there is the version where he is very old and very frail and you understand why he is giving up his kingdom and obviously there is a balance of sympathy towards him or his daughters.
In our version, I’m not old and frail, but you get a sense that there is some internal reason why he (king of his kingdom) is handing it over to his daughters. The clash between him not being able to accept that he is giving up his kingdom and them assuming power, but having that power somewhat curtailed.
QUESTION: How do you interpret the unfolding dynamics between Lear and his three daughters on stage?
Danny Sapani: They are very much his daughters; they are a reflection of him as he is a reflection of them.
What you actually start to experience is a breakdown in a family, a family with a history - a history that we don't see.
You watch what happens in the arena of Succession (tv family Drama Show by Jesse Armstrong), this is about succession; which was so brilliantly portrayed in that TV drama. You see what happens when people get old, what their fears are, and what happens when they feel like that power is going.
It’s really interesting because all my daughters are of Nigerian heritage and I’m of Ghanaian heritage and we talk about the West African version of this and there are so many things in this play that in a West African understanding, they just come to life in such an incredible way. So, we share that understanding in how our own families work, and what you do with your old parents who may not have been the easiest parents to live with, or may have kept illnesses from their children - but, there tends to be that sense of obligation and respect.
The idea of kingship now is very different to what it was 400 years ago - the king isn’t the head of the state now. But when you think of a family and the head of a family, particularly in the West African context, you understand what it means to have respect.
We wanted to tell it from the perspective of a powerful family in the western world who also have those cultural references. It doesn't alienate audiences, it draws them in, in a new and fresh way. Also, our director is South African and she's bringing all of her cultural experiences of growing up in apartheid and her desire to tell stories into this production.
The richness of cultural experience is what makes our theatre so vibrant and that is well expressed in this company. .
“This play was written 400 years ago yet it’s still able to express (and) explore what leadership is, the pressures of leadership and how those pressures affect all of society from the top to the bottom.”
QUESTION: What do you consider the main themes of King Lear?
Danny Sapani: The sense in which the breakdown of family and society (happens)… they are made so real in this play. The sense of our relationship to nature and the environment, homelessness and how we look after the vulnerable in our society and war. This is a time of great conflict, some conflicts get more airplay than others. It’s a play that really looks at man's inhumanity to man and I think it’s very very topical. We need to shout this from the hills, we’ve got to find a better way and elect better leaders and be part of the political process wherever we can.
In this sense, we are using art to highlight some of the issues, obviously without solutions, but at least to get people talking about the things that are important.
Personally, I think King Lear takes a spiritual journey from the beginning of the play till the end that is to do with finding grace from a place of ego. That journey is one that everybody will take in their lives.
QUESTION: What message do you hope the audience receives from this production?
Danny Sapani: I want them to see that there is some part of them and their experiences of all of the lives of these characters that they recognise. If we have done our job well, they will come away and think ‘I see that character, I feel that character, I know that journey’ and are able to explore aspects of their own thinking through our telling of the story and have more empathy for their (personal) journey.
QUESTION: What are you looking forward to the most?
Danny Sapani:I am looking forward to some rest, haha!
I’m not going to lie, it takes it out of you. I have had moments where I have to find ways to energise myself and keep pushing on because I have a huge responsibility as the leader of this company to help us get to a place where we reach the top of the mountain in terms of our ambitions. I hope people enjoy our attempt to tell this wonderful play, to tell this story.
I’m looking forward to sharing peoples thoughts on it and getting some perspective over the journey that we have taken and I think that only happens when you're done - not that I am looking forward to the end, I am very grateful for everything.
I am just really enjoying every moment, but I am looking forward to the point that I can look back and go ‘wow, look what we’ve done’. At the moment I’m it and it’s like we’ve got to keep going and going and building, gotta keep trying to find ways to tell this story even better.
Every night we as a company produce a type of magic in putting this play together and making it clear, making it mean something. I’m very grateful for the company, there is so much talent in this company. It's extraordinary and the great space we get to play it in, all the people involved have been amazing.
Danny Sapani's enthusiasm and fervour for this rendition of King Lear were contagious, filling me with anticipation to discuss the play with others. His bold and passionate articulation about the company illustrates the commendable work being done by Almeida. The collaborative effort of individuals who have undertaken the responsibility of delivering a compelling narrative for the enlightenment and transformation of the audience is the magic and allure of theatre.
King Lear will be showing at the Almeida Theatre until 30th March 2024. You can read our review here.
