Lily Santiago as Cordelia and Patrick Page as Lear. Photo by DJ Corey Photography.
Even if you have seen “King Lear” before, you will want to see this fascinating production by Shakespeare Theatre Company. Expertly directed by Simon Godwin, the play is taken into the modern era. For the Shakespearean purists, you should take the plunge, and if you have never seen this play, STC makes the story easy to follow and still keeps the Elizabethan feeling of the drama through its talented cast and creative team.
Expertly directed…fasten your seat belt for this imaginative journey into Shakespeare’s mind and soul.
There is a double plot line involving two families. Lear (Patrick Page) has three daughters: Goneril (Rosa Gilmore), who is married to Albany (Jake Loewenthal); Regan (Stephanie Jean Lane), who is married to Cornwall (Yao Dogbe); and Cordelia (Lily Santiago). Gloucester (Craig Wallace) has two sons: Edgar (Matthew J. Harris) and his illegitimate son, Edmund (Julian Elijah Martinez). Goneril, Regan, Cornwall, and Edmund are the villains of the story while Cordelia and Edgar are the good and decent offspring. Kent (Shirine Babb) is Lear’s brave and faithful servant, and the Fool, one of Shakespeare’s perennial characters, is played by Michael Milligan.
The play was first done for James I of England who coincidentally had three children. Shakespeare himself had two daughters and no male heir. We also know that the Bard wanted his name attached to this one which, oddly, was first performed for James I at Christmastime. “King Lear” was written right after the Gunpowder Plot in England and based on a true story of the English court. It is rife with politics which makes it perfect for a modern interpretation.
That is just what Godwin did. He made Lear and Gloucester a head of state and a general, respectively. Almost all the male characters, and later the female characters, are modern-day military. The play starts in a military-style airplane hangar. However, Godwin does not let this become an intricate, modern set which would slow the action. Locales are boldly stated in bright lights with a few set pieces and props.
The cast also seems to mimic modern political figures. Both Gilmore and Lane favor two recent women from the last administration and shine as the two evil siblings. As they show their true colors, it brought a shiver to my spine. Through their characterizations, they help connect the classic work to the modern setting. The sisters are sexy and vicious, especially in one of their most memorable scenes—a cat fight over Edmund, and even adding a bit of humor into the action.
The amazingly talented Page is at first the bombastic Lear, but soon we realize that there is something amiss with the leader who suddenly needs constant praise, cannot foresee the consequences of his actions, and is definitely not someone we can imagine ruling a country successfully. As Lear decompensates, Page displays the mental fragility of the monarch, and later, his physical decline as well. Having Lear lying in a modern hospital bed with IVs is genius.
Harris also makes Edgar work. It is hard to play a sane man playing a madman, but Harris brings the character sympathy and courage. In uniform, Martinez is young, sexy, and venomous as Edmund. We have no trouble believing he can charm his father, brother, Goneril, and Regan. He has almost a snakelike quality, like one would imagine the serpent in the Garden of Eden.
Wallace helps us understand the befuddlement of a man who loves Lear but does not understand the evil in his own household. If “King Lear” has one flaw it is that Gloucester never sees Edmund’s duplicity. Yet, Wallace helps us understand why he might get fooled.
Santiago’s Cordelia is much stronger than most I have seen. Although she is still sweet, she is also a force to be reckoned with. Part of that might be aided by the costuming, notably when Cordelia is dressed like a guerrilla warrior leading the invasion and rebellion against her sisters.
The Fool represents Lear’s lost insight. There are volumes written about the character and Milligan’s Fool is still an enigma. Godwin has the Fool die in this production, but in the original, he just disappears.
Dogbe is so evil he could be a character a current horror movie. The actor never glosses over the spitefulness and viciousness of this man who could easily be one of the most villainous characters ever.
Giving quite a wonderfully nuanced performance is Babb as Kent. This is cross-gender casting which works well in this modern context. Babb uses an African/Jamaican accent which seems just right when Kent is forced to disguise himself in order to survive and help Lear.
The rest of the cast is first class—Loewenthal’s Albany as the cuckolded husband trying to do the right thing; Todd Scofield as the obsequious servant, Oswald; Raven Lorraine as Ursula, a handmaid to the court; Hunter Ringsmith as France/Dennis; Ryan Neely as Roland; Terrance Fleming as Burgundy/Curran/French Soldier; and Bekah Zornosa as Constance/Doctor.
Emily Rebholz costumes are inventive and tells us much about the character wearing each of her creations. Daniel Soule’s scenic design, Jeanette Oi-Suk Yew’s lighting design, Christopher Shutt’s sound design, and Aaron Rhyne’s projection design make this “King Lear” particularly special. From the minute you walk in, jets can be heard overhead. Bright, Broadway-like lights display the locations of the scenes as the audience is taken from field hospitals to large, opulent estates. There are helicopters flying overhead at one point. Instead of a cave, Lear and his companions seek shelter in an old, crashed, prop plane. The choreographer, Jonathan Goddard, and the fight coordinator, Robb Hunter, must have had their hands full as there is one fight scene after another. As this one of Shakespeare’s most violent plays, this is “Lear” at its bloodiest.
I must admit “King Lear” is my favorite play ever written and, in my opinion, Shakespeare’s best. It is his only true tragedy as Lear’s mental incompetence is his downfall, not his hubris. Every time I see or read the play, I learn a bit more about humankind. This production is every bit as fulfilling as any I have seen and a ride worth taking. Buy a ticket, take your seat, and fasten your seat belt for this imaginative journey into Shakespeare’s mind and soul.
Running Time: Two hours and 30 minutes with one intermission.
Advisory: For mature audiences due to extreme violence and sexual situations.
“King Lear” is extended through April 16, 2023 at Shakespeare Theatre Company, Klein Theatre, 450 7th Street, NW, Washington, D.C. This production has shattered STC’s previous one-day sales record (set by the Broadway-bound musical “Once Upon a One More Time”) and has been extended for a third time. For tickets and information, go online. There are no COVID restrictions.
