courtesy of the Folger Shakespeare Library
It’s often said that one of the measure’s of William Shakespeare’s talents was that his plays speak to us now as well as they did in Elizabethan England. King Lear, now onstage at the Folger Theatre, does that well, as it’s filled with real-life pains that await many of us today as those around us age. The play runs through September 21.
This staging of the tragedy starts out warm and friendly, much like a pep-rally, as the cast of the Shakespeare’s Globe touring program mingle with the audience and familiarize themselves with their Washington audience. They’ve traveled the world before this performance, and this performance is their American debut. Seats are being snapped up, so get your tickets today. Tickets are very limited now and cost $60.
King Lear, tormented by dementia, bad choices and the treachery of two of the three of his daughters who are later referred to as vipers. The role is played by renowned classical actor Joseph Marcell, who is known in the US for his role as Geoffrey on TV’s The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. His resume is filled with work in powerful roles in As You Like it, Othello, Midsummer Night’s Dream and Much Ado About Nothing, as well as numbers other productions.
Other standouts among the eight person cast includes Bill Nash as the decent and faithful Earl of Kent, John Stahl as the Earl of Gloucester and the Duke of Albany, and Bethan Cullinane, who brings as much comic relief to the Fool as she does torment and grief to the role of Cordelia, Lear’s only daughter to care for him in his aged misery. The play centers around the King’s decision to pass on his wealth and care to the daughters who speak grand but empty compliments rather than of quiet and less grandiose affections of Cordelia.
The performance features costume and songs that feel as though they’re set in Appalachia, complete with clogging and fiddles, even at the wake at the end of the play. There are also modern touches like the King’s decrepit wheelchair and the crime chalk outline drawn after the tragic deaths at the plays climax. The sound direction, complete with blues and bluegrass music and thunderous storm rages, is effective and enlivening. The swordplay, both elegant and athletic, executed by Alex Mugnaioni as Edgar as he fights Daniel Pirrie playing Edmund, was masterfully designed by fight director Kevin McCurdy. Director Bill Buckhurst has led his company well, and the result is a strong production of this powerful tragedy. While the show runs two hours and fifty minutes, is lively as much as it’s sorrowful, and is a can’t miss — if you can get tickets!