|
|
The Tragedy of King Lear by William Shakespeare presented by The ActorsNet of Bucks County April 11 - 28, 2002 starring Mort Paterson as King Lear directed by Cheryl Doyle also featuring: Carol Thompson as Cordelia - youngest daughter to Lear Susan Blair as Goneril, Lear's eldest daughter Theresa Forsyth Swartz as Regan, Lear's middle daughter Jim Ludovici as Duke of Albany Hugh Barton as Duke of Cornwall Kevin McLernon as King of France Phil Fagans as Duke of Burgundy David Swartz as Earl of Gloucester George Reilly as Edgar - legitimate son to Gloucester George Hartpence as Edmund - bastard son to Gloucester Steve Lobis as Earl of Kent Bernard DiCasimirro as Lear's Fool Chuck Donnelly as Oswald, servant to Goneril and as soldiers, attendants and in small speaking roles: Ed Patton, Ken Ammerman, and Marco Newton Set design and execution by Hugh Barton 
| | ActorsNet Program cover (click on image above to access ActorsNet web site for this show) | ActorsNet poster |
Some thoughts on King Lear: Hubris or hybris (Greek), according to its modern usage, is exaggerated self pride or self-confidence, often resulting in fatal retribution, often for a tragic hero with a tragic flaw.  Plot Summary:
Lear, King of Britain, decides to abdicate and divide his kingdom between his three daughters. When his beloved youngest, Cordelia, refuses to make a public declaration of love for her father she is disinherited and married to the King of France without a dowry. The Earl of Kent is banished by Lear for daring to defend her. The two elder daughters, Goneril and Regan, and their husbands inherit the kingdom. Gloucester, deceived by his bastard son Edmund, disinherits his legitimate son, Edgar, who is forced to go on the run to save his life. Lear, now stripped of his power, quarrels with Goneril and Regan about the conditions of his lodging in their households. In a rage he goes out into the stormy night, accompanied by his Fool and by Kent, now disguised as a servant. They encounter Edgar, disguised as a mad beggar called 'Poor Tom'. Gloucester is betrayed by Edmund and captured by Regan and Cornwall, who put out his eyes. King Lear is taken secretly to Dover, where Cordelia has landed with a French army. The blind Gloucester meets but does not recognize Edgar, who leads him to Dover. Lear and Cordelia are reconciled, but in the ensuing battle are captured by the sisters' forces. Goneril and Regan are both in love with Edmund, who encourages them both. Discovering this, Goneril's husband Albany forces Edmund to defend himself against the charge of treachery. A knight appears to challenge Edmund and, after fatally wounding him, reveals himself to be Edgar. News comes that Goneril has poisoned Regan and then committed suicide. Before dying, Edmund reveals that he has ordered the deaths of Lear and Cordelia.
Slings & Arrows: Season 3 This Canadian television cult hit about the trials and tribulations of a Shakespeare festival very similar to the Stratford Shakespeare Festival devoted their third season to a production of King Lear - the cap to their tragic trilogy of Hamlet (Season 1) - Macbeth (Season 2) - and King Lear (Season 3). In it the somewhat mad artistic director Geoffrey Tennet played by Paul Gross drafts an old mentor to portray his King Lear. The late William Hutt as the veteran stage actor Charles Kingman (the play on words is obvious) plays the eponymous monarch and describes his take on Lear as "the story of a man who loses his mind, but finds his heart." In episode two, as a theater exercise for the beginning of the rehearsal process, Charles tells the story of King Lear in his own words: "Once, there was an old king. Who, after many years of reign, realized he was at the end of his life.
The King announced that he was going to divide up the kingdom amongst his daughters: Regan, Goneril, and his favorite, Cordelia. But first, he had a question for them. 'Which of you shall we say doest love us most?'
So Cordelia has a choice. Does she flatter him, like her sisters, or does she risk everything, and tell her father the truth?
His anger is boundless. He banishes Cordelia, he banishes the faithful Kent, and Goneril and Regan seize their opportunity.
They drive their father out of doors into a fierce thunderstorm, and there, on the heath, with his Fool and the disguised Kent begging him to take shelter, he rages against his daughter's ingratitude. He's gone mad.
The old man sleeps, and when he wakes, Cordelia is there, as if in a vision, and the king and his daughter embrace with tears of joy. They're sent to prison, but they're resigned, happy even, because they're together. And poor Cordelia is hanged. And as Lear cradles her dead body, his spirit finally breaks. And he dies."
The first three season of Slings & Arrows are available on DVD are should be considered a "must see" for anyone with even the slightest interest in Shakespeare or theater.
On Playing Lear by Mort Paterson  "The greatest challenge was to define the items of self-knowledge Lear gains in his madness and make those insights clear to the audience; rather than just spout interminable stormy nonsense, as if it didn't matter what his actual words were. One needs to see how the madness heals him. It's easy to act old and crazy; it's not easy to bring meanings out of the craziness."
The Role of Edmund: Illegitimate son to Gloucester
 Gloucester’s younger, illegitimate son is an opportunist, whose ambitions lead him to form a union with Goneril and Regan. The injustice of Edmund’s situation fails to justify his subsequent actions, although at the opening of the play when Gloucester explains Edmund's illegitimacy (in his hearing) to Kent, with coarse jokes, the audience can initially feel sympathetic towards him, until his true character is revealed. Like Shylock and his "Has not a Jew eyes...?" (Merchant of Venice, III, 1, 60), Edmund makes a speech, "Why bastard? Wherefore base?" (II, 2, 5) decrying his stereotype before conforming to it. Edmund rejects the laws of state and society in favour of the laws he sees as eminently more practical and useful—the laws of superior cunning and strength. Edmund’s desire to use any means possible to secure his own needs makes him appear initially as a villain without a conscience. But Edmund has some solid economic impetus for his actions, and he acts from a complexity of reasons, many of which are similar to those of Goneril and Regan. To rid himself of his father, Edmund feigns regret and laments that his nature, which is to honour his father, must be subordinate to the loyalty he feels for his country. Thus, Edmund excuses the betrayal of his own father, having willingly and easily left his father vulnerable to Cornwall’s anger. Later, Edmund shows no hesitation, nor any concern about killing the king or Cordelia. Yet in the end, Edmund repents and tries to rescind his order to execute Cordelia and Lear, and in this small measure, he could be said to have proved himself worthy of Gloucester’s blood. However, this last act can also be viewed as a selfish act in the attempt to gain favour from the gods before his death.
Because of primogeniture, Edmund will inherit nothing from his father. That, combined with Gloucester's poor treatment of Edmund in the opening lines of the play, gives Edmund motivation to betray his brother Edgar and manipulate his way into relationships with both Goneril and Regan. If Lear, Cordelia, and Kent represent the old ways of Monarchy, order, and a distinct Hierarchy, then Edmund is the most representative of a new order which adheres to Machiavellian thoughts which justify his betrayals. Edmund's determination to undo his brother and claim his father's title causes him to cut his own arm early in the play to make an imaginary fight between Edgar (his brother) and himself more convincing.
Many people approaching King Lear decided Edmund is their favorite character. I’m one of those folks. Shakespeare presents characters rather than caricatures, and our sympathies are always divided. Edmund is charming, clever, clear-headed (when others are not). And we see at the very beginning how hurtfully and thoughtlessly his father has treated him. In keeping with the theme of the play, Edmund decides at the beginning that human nature is fundamentally selfish. And Edmund decides to act accordingly. In our world, such people often present themselves as "having style", and in fact those who pray certain liturgies specifically renounce "the glamour of evil". Edmund treats others horribly. Yet at the end, Edmund finds the decency he thought he didn't have, and tries to do good "in spite of [his] own nature."
George Hartpence
Production Photos: 
| Mort Paterson (center) as King Lear Susan Blair (right) as Goneril Carol Thompson (left) as Cordelia |  | Mort Paterson (left) as King Lear Steve Lobis (center) as Kent rear from left: Theresa Forsyth Swartz as Regan, Hugh Barton as Cornwall, Susan Blair as Goneril | 
| Susan Blair (left) as Goneril Jim Ludovici (right) as Albany |  | Carol Thompson (left) as Cordelia Kevin McLernon (right foreground) as King of France Phil Fagans (right background) as Duke of Burgundy Mort Paterson (center background) as King Lear | 
| George Hartpence (left) as Edmund David Swartz (right) as Gloucester |  | George Hartpence as Edmund during the "bastard" soliloquy | 
| Steve Lobis (left) as Kent Bernard DiCasimirro as Fool Ed Patton (right) as soldier |  | Mort Paterson (right) as Lear Bernard DiCasimirro (left) as Fool background from left: Kevin McLernon, Ken Ammerman, Marco Newton | 
| Susan Blair as Goneril Mort Paterson as Lear |  | Mort Paterson (center) as King Lear Theresa Forsyth Swartz (left) as Regan Susan Blair (right) as Goneril |  | Mort Paterson (right) as King Lear Bernard DiCasimirro (left) as Fool |  | Mort Paterson(center) as Lear Steve Lobis (right) as Kent Bernard DiCasimirro (right) as Fool |  | Mort Paterson (left) as King Lear George Reilly (right) as Edgar in Poor Tom disguise |  | Mort Paterson (right) as Lear Bernard DiCasimirro (right) as Fool George Reilly (center) as Edgar | 
| George Reilly as Edgar/Poor Tom | 
| George Reilly as Edgar/Poor Tom | 
| Steve Lobis (left) as Kent Mort Paterson (right) as Lear |  | David Swartz (right) as Gloucester Steve Lobis (center) as Kent rear background: Lear leaves with Poor Tom | 
| Susan Blair (left) as Goneril Theresa Forsyth Swartz (right) as Regan |  | "Out, out vile jelly." The blinding of Gloucester David Swartz (center in chair) as Gloucester Hugh Barton (up center) as Cornwall Kevin McLernon and Phil Fagans as henchmen. | 
| Steve Lobis (up) as Kent Chuck Donnelly (below) as Oswald |  | Steve Lobis (left) as Kent Chuck Donnelly (right) as Oswald |
| Mort Paterson as King Lear |  | David Swartz (right) as blinded Gloucester Marco Newton as peasant | 
| Mort Paterson (right) as King Lear David Swartz (left) as Gloucester |  | David Swartz (left) as Gloucester George Reilly (right) as Edgar | 
| Theresa Forsyth Swartz (left) as Regan George Hartpence (center) as Edmund Jim Ludovici (right) as Albany |  | George Hartpence (left) as Edmund Susan Blair (right) as Goneril | 
| Carol Thompson as Cordelia |  | Carol Thompson (left) as Cordelia Mort Paterson (right) as Lear | 
| George Hartpence (left) as Edmund Mort Paterson and Carol Thompson (right) as Lear and Cordelia Phil Fagans and Kevin McLernon as henchmen |  | George Hartpence (left) as Edmund Phil Fagans (right) as a henchman | 
| Jim Ludovici (left) as Albany Marco Newton (right) as messenger | | George Hartpence as Edmund | 
| George Hartpence (right) as Edmund George Reilly (left) as disguised Edgar |  | George Hartpence (right) as Edmund George Reilly (left) as disguised Edgar | 
| George Hartpence (right) as Edmund George Reilly (left) as Edgar |  | Carol Thompson as Cordelia Mort Paterson as King Lear | 
| Carol Thompson as Cordelia Mort Paterson as King Lear |  | Carol Thompson and Mort Paterson (center) as the dead Cordelia and Lear Steve Lobis (left) as Kent George Reilly (right) as Edgar background from left: Phil Fagans, Marco Newton, Ed Patton, Kevin McLernon | | | | | | | | |
This page was last modified on Monday, July 30, 2007 |
|