Simon Godwin’s rendition of “King Lear” has been the talk of the town for weeks now, portraying a critique on gerontocracy according to Drew Lichtenberg, the theater’s dramaturg. It raises questions on the propriety of advancing age and the reluctance of stepping down to enable others to learn to do the job. A similar situation is encountered in Washington, where lawmakers are facing challenges governing with “an old and frail group of lawmakers” Car Hulse and Annie Karni wrote in The New York Times. This has diluted the power of the Democratic majority and raises concerns on the future of Mitch McConnell as the Head of Senate Republicans.
At 81, the minority leader is convalescing from a fall that resulted in a concussion and a broken rib. In the same vein, Dianne Feinstein, aged 89, with shingles has barely been in senate this year. Already a Judiciary Committee member, she cannot make judicial nominations to keep pace with the way Donald Trump and McConnell have reshaped federal courts; their influence is evident in the terrible abortion rulings that are emerging. Chuck Grassley, 89, who fell and underwent hip replacement this winter, has filed to run in 2028, at the end of that term, he will clock 101.
The political climate is marred with geriatrics such as Joe Biden, who would be 86 at the end of another term, squaring off with Trump, King Leer, who would be 82. Godwin’s production explores dotage in a postindustrial landscape, conjuring up images of Trump, Vladimir Putin, Rupert Murdoch, and Logan Roy among others.
Echoes of Trump reverberate in the first scene, reminiscent of his jet-striding theatrics while waving official documents. In the portrayal, Goneril and Regan are clad in flashy Trump daughter costumes using ego arithmetic to measure their manhood and success. Lear brandishes his knights, which Goneril and Regan whittle down to zero, stripping him of his pride and sanity. In his words, “I am ashamed that thou has power to shake my manhood thus”.
Likewise, there are moments bringing out the Putin factor, who resembles an American counterpart of the 70 year old Russian leader, haunted by moral blindness accentuated in his evil war against Ukraine. As Gloucester says, “’Tis the time’s plague when madmen lead the blind.”
“Succession,” Adam McKay’s production, a blend of Lear and Rupert Murdoch, is another nod to gerontocracy. Logan Roy is Lear personified and together, they use sadism to hurl thunderbolts, pitting their children against one another for control over the empire. The show sheds light on how the controlling part of ourselves can lead to our undoing. Lichtenberg echoes on “Shakespeare Hour Live,” that when we stare down the end of our life, the scariest thing we could do is ask if we are genuinely loved.
Rupert Murdoch, the 92-year-old founder of Fox News, is probably facing legal action courtesy of the $1.6 billion Dominion Voting Systems defamation case. After a career spreading poisonous lies about climate change, Covid-19, and Trump’s stolen election propaganda, the so-called King Rupert is about to lose control over paradise because of Dominion. The Australian immigrant who ran anti-immigrant news organizations and fueled the racist “birther” conspiracy theory about Barack Obama would reap billions by pitting Americans against one another.
It may be challenging for journalists to argue that a news organization should be punished, but Fox News isn’t just a news organization; it’s a selfish business that panicked when its reporters started telling the truth about Trump’s lies, broadcasting them instead to appease viewers.
It would be gratifying to see someone held accountable for the lies that have corroded our democracy and sparked the Jan. 6 insurrection. Like social media companies, which tweaked their algorithms to promote conflict and profits, Murdoch twisted the news to suit viewer preferences, blinding them to the truth. In Lear’s words, America is now “this great stage of fools,” howling at the storm.
