King Lear: the daddy of all tragedies
In the past decade, the Dubliner has played some of the iconic roles of modern drama: Hamm in Endgame, Frank Hardy in Faith Healer, Big Daddy in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, and Shelley Levine in Glengarry Glen Ross.
“I’ve been very lucky,” says Roe. “The older you get, the better the roles are for men. But, of course, the older you get, well, the older you’re getting.” Roe is playing the title role in the Abbey’s new production of King Lear. It’s a return to Shakespeare for him: he has starred in acclaimed revivals of Titus Andronicus and The Taming of the Shrew. Roe is ‘ageing up’ for Lear. The tragic king undone by foolhardiness and madness is a very elderly man. Roe is but a tender 53.
