Outdoors at the Colorado Shakespeare Festival, this summer’s unsettled weather is the perfect backdrop for Shakespeare’s tragedy
As if on cue, threatening skies and a breezy cold front blew into Boulder during the beginning of Act III of King Lear, now playing at Colorado Shakespeare Festival. We escaped the rain; however, the timing was near perfect as King Lear (Ellen McLaughlin) and his remaining compatriots, the Earl of Kent (Mare Trevathan), and his Fool (Sam Sandoe) weathered their own storm.
King Lear is certainly not the easiest of Shakespeare’s plays to fully grasp. It can be downright difficult to completely understand the underlying themes that Shakespeare is putting forth in this monumental tragedy. This production, sublimely directed by Carolyn Howarth, valiantly showcases a firm grip on the play while answering some of the centuries-old questions about King Lear and what the play symbolizes.
The play opens with Lear wishing to step away from his monarchy and choosing to divide it among his three daughters. This quickly backfires on him when his favorite daughter Cordelia (Shaunte’ Lofton) refuses to concede to his wishes, setting off Lear’s downfall into a debilitating spiral and a familial battle for supremacy.
We are introduced to the Earl of Gloucester (Brik Berkes) and his illegitimate son, Edmund (K.P. Powell), the instigator of a smear campaign involving Gloucester’s eldest son Edgar (Sean Scrutchins). Edgar is banished when Gloucester is made aware of the plot supposedly set forth to kill his own father.
Switching between living with his power-hungry daughters Goneril (Jessica Robblee) and Regan (Anastasia Davidson), Lear eventually leaves with his Fool and Kent into an impending storm. While struggling to escape nature’s wrath, they run across Edgar, who is now in disguise.
In the meantime, Edmund, who has been elevated to the Earl of Gloucester, becomes the focus of both Goneril and Regan as a possible love interest. And to regain control for Lear, Cordelia, now the commander, sends in the French army. The army is defeated, and Cordelia is captured along with Lear.
As with most Shakespearean tragedies, few characters are left standing upon conclusion and King Lear is no different with murders, poisonings and suicide ensuing among the major characters. In the end, Edgar is given his rightful title as the Earl of Gloucester and, as might be expected, Lear dies a thoroughly broken man.
McLaughlin as King Lear fully embodies the character both vocally and physically, giving a fierce performance with non-stop conviction. Both a national and international actor and playwright, McLaughlin has captured Lear’s raison d’etre with every possible note. She does not shy away from her powerful core to manifest a magnificent interpretation of the ultimate Shakespearean tragic figure. It is a role she is well suited to play along with the long list of distinguished actors – both male and female — who have played the role in the past.
Other standouts in this production include Berkes as the Earl of Gloucester, Trevathan as the Earl of Kent, Powell as Edmund, Scrutchins as Edgar, Sandoe as Fool, and Lofton as Cordelia. Each actor has a highly developed and crystal-clear motivation for their characters’ actions. They are all strong additions to the storyline and capture a true Shakespearean interpretation with extremely compelling performances.
As directed by Howarth, King Lear moves briskly from beginning to end. The action is clean and concise without being overly complicated given the extraordinary complexity of the play with multiple storylines to address. Additionally, Howarth does not shy away from the humor Shakespeare has carefully injected into the play, ultimately playing it for laughs when appropriate. She allows the actors to reach out to the audience and fully envelop the playing area while maintaining a sense of intimacy in doing so.
The scenic design by Kevin Nelson and costume design by Meghan Anderson Doyle were both striking and confusing at the same time. The main playing area — outdoors at the Mary Rippon Theatre on the CU-Bolder campus — includes a realistic rock formation that was eventually used as part of a scene. However, surrounding the rock formation was a highly stylized and stark lighting effect applied as soon as the sun set. With the costuming, also highly stylized and mostly in black, there seemed to be several design elements at play without a clear demarcation between them. None of this distracted from the production, just raising questions about the overall design concept.
King Lear is an enormous undertaking for any theatre company. Colorado Shakespeare Festival has attacked it head-on and delivers a highly charged evening in the theatre.
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