YMMV / Shakespeare Unwrapped

• Alternate Character Interpretation:
  • The students discuss that Regan is constantly trying to outdo Goneril. Notably in this version the actors playing Albany and Cornwall look quite similar. Did Regan deliberately pick a husband who resembled her sister's?
  • Oswald smirks when Regan mentions that he is "bosomed" with Goneril. Due to Oswald being visually younger than everyone else (and this scene in particular having Regan say that Goneril doesn't love Albany), is he something of a Sex Slave? Note the positioning in Act 2, Scene V - Regan and Cornwall are positioned together as husband and wife, while Goneril and Oswald's positioning mirrors theirs.
• Aluminum Christmas Trees: When people think of the stocks, they're more likely to picture something that traps the head and forearms. The stocks shown here are for the legs, which is historically accurate. That's actually why Regan's line in the play is "put in his legs".
• Ho Yay: This version really plays up the subtext between Lear and Kent. There are lots of Held Gazes between them, and Kent staring watery eyed at Lear. The final scene in particular does look more like a reunion between two lovers.
• Nausea Fuel: Cornwall gouges Gloucester's eye out...and it's not a prop eye. It's a genuine pig's eye. Which he then steps on, for added Squick.
• Platonic Writing, Romantic Reading: Due to the actors being the same age, Lear and Cordelia's tender scene in Act IV now looks less like a father/daughter one. Given the Held Gaze between them at one point, it almost looks like there's some Incest Subtext (which to be fair, is there in the original play too).