This is my first blog post while in Stratford-upon-Avon. I will hold off on too much regarding the town because our next prompt relates to the subject. We have already watched two shows here in town at Royal Shakespeare Company in The Other Place theatre. Today, as you can tell by the title, I will be doing a little dive into the performance I saw of King Lear.
There are a couple of interesting facts about this production. First, it was in Ukrainian without surtitles. This made a few of us a little nervous about being able to understand what was going on, especially because it was not going to be word for word of the play. Second, this production was influenced by the war currently going on in Ukraine and these individuals turned to theatre as a form of release. The people on stage were not professional actors. This idea intrigued me greatly and I was excited to see how it would turn out.
The influence of war on this production felt fitting. The universality of loss, whether that be of your home, friends and family, or all of it, is at least a fear most if not all of us have. Most of us have not have ever experienced such losses as the those acting in King Lear, but anyone with a heart could feel how much impact emotional turmoil was on that stage. I was able to loosely follow the plot, at times I was confused, but never to the point where I was completely lost. When they stood at the end holding hands, and were so incredibly proud of the work they done, I got teary eyed. I could not imagine how they could relate so closely to the story. While the acting was not the best, I think having people who are not professionally trained to present this show this specific way is important. This shows how real and true the events are on stage for these people.
I would like to briefly mention the costuming, set design, lighting and sound. The characterization that came just from the costuming was fitting for each of the characters. The fact that the King started off in the grayish tan overlay that matched the Bad Sisters (Goneril and Regan) and all three had the silver crowns on, showing they have an established relationship. When Good Sister (Cordelia) came in wearing all white with the white flower crown, she very clearly stood out as someone who is different than the other three. When the King took off the grayish tan overlay that showed his change of heart as a person and towards Cordelia was a simple yet effective tactic to show us what had happened. The Set design was simple as well, the tall wooden structures with muslin-like fabric floating down. Everything was on wheels and were moved along or off the stage, making functionality important but also to show scene changes in a simple way. The lighting was great as well as sound, but often felt a little too loud and the cues felt way too long at several moments during the show. Overall, the tech was simple but effective.
Theatre is so magical. Theatre is medicine. I have been reminded time and time again throughout this trip and each time is just as exciting yet painful as the last. How lucky are we to be doing this?
See you soon.
Theatre in London U of A 