Inspiration: King Lear

O, let me not be mad, not mad, sweet heaven!
I would not be mad
Keep me in temper. I would not be mad.
(Act 1 scene 5)


Lead by his corrupt emotions and blindness to truth, King Lear is driven to face the beast of his darkness. He sows the seed to his own destruction, his madness projected onto the bleak and stormy landscape of the moors… where he stands holding his beloved and dead Cordelia.
let me not be mad explores the internal landscape of the helpless and broken King Lear, layering live action, pin hole photography and mix media drawn animation. Funded by Film London Artists’ Moving Image Network and King’s College London in association with University of Portsmouth.

For Film London:
Head of Artists’ Moving Image: Maggie Ellis
Senior FLAMIN Manager: Rose Cupit
FLAMIN Project Officer: Marta Michalowska

For King’s College London:
Professor of English and Director of London Shakespeare Centre: Gordon McMullan
Head of Programming, Cultural Institute: Leanne Hammacott
Research Student, Department of English Language & Literature: Sally Barnden

Still Shakespeare is inspired by original research by Sally Barnden

Director & Animator: Meghana Bisineer