By
Shaun Clayton
Arizona Daily Wildcat
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."
Centered around King Lear, played by University of Arizona acting professor Harold Dixon, the play focuses on his attempt to fairly divide the lands of his kingdom after his death between his three daughters - Goneril, Reagan and Cordelia - and their husbands.
His decision leads to a struggle for power, divides the family, drives Lear into madness and causes great suffering for all involved parties.
"I think it's exciting to have it set in this time period," said Josh Fowler, an acting senior who plays Cornwall. "It just gives a whole different take that I think is much more interesting than the way it's been produced (for) years and years and years. It gives it a freshness that (the play) wouldn't have (if) it was produced in the 'tights' period."
Indeed, the costumes are not of the "tights and ruffles" variety. Instead, everything is geared toward WWI style, including ladies dressed in lavish hoop dresses, gentlemen in coats and tails and soldiers wearing military uniforms complete with period guns and knives.
Even technically, this version of "Lear" distinguishes itself from other productions. The play is performed in-the-round, meaning that the audience surrounds the stage and the actors can be seen performing from all angles.
Gibbs explained that the set design group deliberately chose a modern equivalent to the theater venue utilized by Shakespeare.
"There is a big challenge in that, in Shakespeare's plays, there is such an incredible forward momentum," Gibbs said. "Events just pile up on one another and, of course, (Shakespeare) had a very specific stage that he was working on that allowed that to happen - the Elizabethan stage. What we tried to find was a modern corollary for that, so that's why we did a theater-in-the-round - so we could flow from one scene to the next without any break in the action."
Despite all the changes, the tragic play will still resonate with audiences, Gibbs said, as it speaks to the human condition, no matter where it is set.
"Part of our charge here is not only to produce quality theater, which I think we do, but to initiate a new generation of theater-goers," Gibbs said. "It's important to go to the theater and examine the human condition so that one can examine what your own life is like."
Arizona Daily Wildcat
ART 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."
Centered around King Lear, played by University of Arizona acting professor Harold Dixon, the play focuses on his attempt to fairly divide the lands of his kingdom after his death between his three daughters - Goneril, Reagan and Cordelia - and their husbands.
His decision leads to a struggle for power, divides the family, drives Lear into madness and causes great suffering for all involved parties.
"I think it's exciting to have it set in this time period," said Josh Fowler, an acting senior who plays Cornwall. "It just gives a whole different take that I think is much more interesting than the way it's been produced (for) years and years and years. It gives it a freshness that (the play) wouldn't have (if) it was produced in the 'tights' period."
Indeed, the costumes are not of the "tights and ruffles" variety. Instead, everything is geared toward WWI style, including ladies dressed in lavish hoop dresses, gentlemen in coats and tails and soldiers wearing military uniforms complete with period guns and knives.
Even technically, this version of "Lear" distinguishes itself from other productions. The play is performed in-the-round, meaning that the audience surrounds the stage and the actors can be seen performing from all angles.
Gibbs explained that the set design group deliberately chose a modern equivalent to the theater venue utilized by Shakespeare.
"There is a big challenge in that, in Shakespeare's plays, there is such an incredible forward momentum," Gibbs said. "Events just pile up on one another and, of course, (Shakespeare) had a very specific stage that he was working on that allowed that to happen - the Elizabethan stage. What we tried to find was a modern corollary for that, so that's why we did a theater-in-the-round - so we could flow from one scene to the next without any break in the action."
Despite all the changes, the tragic play will still resonate with audiences, Gibbs said, as it speaks to the human condition, no matter where it is set.
"Part of our charge here is not only to produce quality theater, which I think we do, but to initiate a new generation of theater-goers," Gibbs said. "It's important to go to the theater and examine the human condition so that one can examine what your own life is like."
