A new production of King Lear at Sheffield's Crucible theatre, directed by Titas Halder, has been reviewed unfavourably, with lead actor Ian McDiarmid failing to recapture the acclaim of his previous turn in the role. McDiarmid, best known internationally for playing Emperor Palpatine in Star Wars, returns to Sheffield Theatres and to this play after a 21-year gap, a reunion intended as the production's main selling point. The review finds that the weight of matching his own celebrated 2005 performance proves too heavy a burden, with the shortfall affecting the wider production around him.

McDiarmid, whose extensive stage career includes Manchester's Royal Exchange, the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Almeida, the Royal Court and the National Theatre, previously played Lear at the Crucible in 2005 to five-star reviews. This new run forms the first half of a celebrity-led Shakespeare double bill at the venue, with comedian and actor Mathew Horne set to take over the same cast next month in a production of Twelfth Night. The review's verdict is that, despite the ambition of the casting, the current Lear rarely rises to the standard set by its predecessor.