The Seagull/King Lear - TNT

Director Trevor Nunn isn't letting anyone go home early with either of these RSC productions which arrive in London via Stratford and an international tour. His leisurely but atmospheric production of The Seagull proves, for the most part, to be a straightforward account of Chekhov's 1896 tragi-comedy. It's full of people with too little to do, thwarted in love and in their careers, and always at risk of making their unsatisfactory lives even less fulfilling. On the whole, it's the less showy roles that make the most impact. Though a predominantly shrill Frances Barber is ultimately moving as ageing actress Arkadina (clinging, with a "last chance" desperation to her novelist lover as he falls under the spell of admiring teenage neighbour Nina), newcomer Richard Goulding is every bit as impressive as her aspiring playwright son Konstantin. Jonathan Hyde's commitment-phobe Doctor sings to drown out the pleas of Melanie Jessop's married Polina, and Ben Meyjes is sadly comic as teacher Medvedenko who marries Monica Dolan's despondent, openly alcoholic Masha, even though it's Konstantin who has captured her heart. Meanwhile, William Gaunt's rueful portrayal of ageing, ailing Sorin leaves no doubt that his life has been one long disappointment.
Gaunt shares that role with Ian McKellen who is presumably saving some energy for his thoughtfully poignant performance as the misguided King Lear who splits his kingdom and disowns a daughter. Packed with misplacedfraternal trust, this tragedy unfolds against the backdrop of a crumbling theatre and an insistent soundscape. McKellen convincingly conveys Lear's decline from shaky old age to the bewildered confusion of a senility hastened by the callous behaviour of his older offspring - a sadistic Regan and Frances Barber's icy Goneril . Yet, stripped of finery, status and much of his sanity, he still remains tenderly protective of Sylvester McCoy's loyal, spoon-playing Fool as they shiver together in the storm.
New London, Drury Lane, WC2 (0870-890 0141). Until January 12. £40-£15