Reprtory Theatre sets classic tragedy in contemporary WWI

Madness, sadness, pain, gain, love and loss - these themes are the focus of the Arizona Repertory Theatre's version of Shakespeare's "King Lear" now showing at the Laboratory Theatre.

Because it is based on mythology that Shakespeare essentially "tweaked" for the Elizabethan audience, the setting of "King Lear" has never been restricted to a specific time period.

Therefore, the Arizona Repertory Theatre's production takes the basic story line of the play and sets it in the contemporary World War I era.

"You try to find stuff in the text to support whatever concept you come up with. You start primarily looking at the imagery and seeing what the imagery offers you," said Brent Gibbs, executive director of the show. "For instance, in 'Lear,' there's images of madness, war, blindness - all images that can be found in World War I."