Photo by Katy Green-Loughrey
The Sydney Shakespeare Festival's production of King Lear is solid, if somewhat unadventurous. While the first half drags a little, the second makes up for it, the relentless action driving this classic play towards its bloodbath of a conclusion.
If you don't know the story of King Lear, here's a brief synopsis. Ageing king Lear is abdicating. He wants to split his kingdom between his three daughters, but when his youngest and most beloved daughter Cordelia refuses to participate in his bizarre contest of affection, he banishes her, leaving his other daughters Goneril and Regan in charge of the kingdom and determined to strip all power from him. Meanwhile, Edmund, bastard son of the Duke of Gloucester, has his own plan to grab power...
Director Richard Hilliar has set this production post-WWII. The setting doesn't seem to have a great effect on the show: this is not a reading aggressively applied. In the first half, the only reason I knew when/where it was set was the costumes. It becomes far more noticeable in the second half – the scene where blind Gloucester finds himself caught in a cacophony of sirens is great. Thematically, this setting makes sense – it takes place in a world reborn, where the rules of power need to be renegotiated. However, I wish that this historical lens had been applied more consistently and deeply. It felt a little like window dressing.
The second half is where this show really finds its feet. The first half could have used a tighter cut of the script: it takes more than an hour to get to Lear's madness on the heath, and it feels like it. The second half, on the other hand, is deftly punctuated with the famous eye-gouging scene, Cordelia's return, and a whole lot of death. It becomes a whole new show – energised and fast-paced.
There are some good performances in this show, especially from the three actresses playing Lear's daughters, Hailey McQueen (Goneril), Amy Scott-Smith (Regan) and Danielle Baynes (Cordelia). Leof Kingsford-Smith gives us a Lear who descends into madness very suddenly, but once he's there, he is very convincing. I'd also like to commend Kieran Foster and Jasper Garner-Gore in the small roles of Edgar and the Fool respectively. Both imbued their characters with some really interesting subtlety and nuance.
Ideally, I'd have liked this production to have taken more risks, been more daring. It's very safe, and thus does not feel especially original or innovative. But it is solid, and if you can pay attention through the rather slow first half, the second half delivers a decent payoff. I'll be interested to see what the same company do with Measure For Measure, which is playing in repertory with this production of Lear.
Sydney Independent Theatre Company (SITCO) presents Sydney Shakespeare Festival
KING LEAR
by William Shakespeare
Director Richard Hilliar
Venue: Old Fitzroy Theatre, 129 Dowling St (cnr Cathedral St), Woolloomooloo
Dates: Nov 20 – Dec 17, 2013
Tickets: $32 – $26
Bookings: www.sitco.net.au | 1300 307 264
