Theatre Review
Production: King Lear
By: William Shakespeare
Director: James Fagan Tait
Main players: Christopher Weddell, Gerry Mackay, Robert Moloney, Christopher Gaze, Patti Allan, Lois Anderson, Tiffany Lyndall-Knight, Melissa Poll, Todd Talbot
Where: Bard on the Beach Shakespeare Festival, Main Stage
Run: June14 - September 26

 
Reviewed By: Tessa Perkins (Vancouver Correspondent - Canada) 

With such an epic story, it would be hard to know how to translate it effectively into present day. This version of King Lear was set in the "not-too-distant" future with a hint of Margaret Thatcher's British rule thrown in to the pot. Although this is quite a dark play, there were a few moments of humour added to lighten it up. The musical elements were also quite helpful in lightening the atmosphere.

One of the best and most classic tragedies, King Lear is heart-wrenching on many levels. As the King of Britain ages, he decides it is time to divide his kingdom between his daughters. The daughter that can proclaim her love for him the most devotedly will claim the largest share. What Lear (Gaze) doesn't know is that the two who claim to love him most are the ones who will secretly plot his ultimate downfall. Unlike the daughters Goneril (Anderson) and Regan (Lyndall-Knight), Cordelia (Poll) is a truly loving daughter who is unable to equate her love of her father into mere words. As a result of this, Cordelia is banished and Goneril and Regan gain control of the kingdom. They slowly wear away at their father's power until he is nothing more than an old crazy man in a wheelchair. The Earl of Kent (Mackey) is a loyal servant to the king, but tries to defend Cordelia and is also banished from the kingdom. While this father trusts the wrong children, the Earl of Gloucester (Weddell) is likewise making a big mistake in parenting. He is convinced by his bastard son Edmund (Moloney) that his legitimate son Edgar (Talbot) is plotting to kill him and thus banishes Edgar from his household.

Disguise plays a strong role in the play: Kent disguises himself in order to serve the King and watch over him while his daughters betray him so maliciously. Edgar, after being banished by his father, is disguised as poor mad Tom and ends up saving his father's life. The disguises were well done for both characters, and both seemed as if they were different actors. The Nurse (Allan) deserves special mention; she provided almost all the humour in an otherwise dark play. Her snide comments, often said under her breath or for the benefit of the audience, were perfectly timed and executed. Another element of added humour was a cleaning lady with a vacuum going from one side of the upper stage to the other at various moments during the play. I suppose that was added to give a sense of really being in a royal house where there are cleaning ladies, but its comic value was limited.    

The costuming for Lear was very modern as the play is set in the near future, but it was still classic, as some pieces never seem to go out of style. The clothing of royalty and the upper classes hasn't changed much over the years, and many of the pieces in the show looked timeless; especially the tweed hunting jackets, soft caps, and wellington boots. Gaze looks about 15 years older on stage even though his role calls for 25 years older, but there is only so much a baggy shirt and a wig can do. The violence of the play, instead of being portrayed with swords, was done with toy guns that made fake shooting sounds. The guns somewhat took away from the authenticity of the story because of their obvious falsity, but the actors did a wonderful job of blending them into the play and subduing that effect.

As Lear realizes the betrayal of his daughters, he becomes increasingly mad and in the end cannot even recognize for certain his beloved Cordelia. Gaze had a challenging role with Lear, a king who starts out with everything and ends with nothing, but the downfall into madness was well conveyed. Lear is a play with an inherent warning imbedded in its text: be careful who you trust because even those closest to you may be the ones out to get you, and don't be too quick to distrust those that have been so loyal for so long. If only Lear had taken the advice of Kent, his loyal and trusted servant, maybe he could have avoided all the pain and madness that led to his destruction.

There are many instances of choral singing during the play when the cast fills in the background and adds to the sound in canon after one of the characters starts to sing. The song that stood out to me was used twice, most effectively during the last scene. It is the text "I will forget, I will forgive," and it was sung very well to create the feelings of regret and remorse after so much death and destruction during the play. The song ended the play wonderfully and left the audience with the type of melancholy anti-climax that is experienced while the credits roll by at the end of a film. King Lear was well-acted, thorough, and managed to convey the purpose of the play to full potential.