Archives - King Lear

by William Shakespeare

Directed by Simon Wallace

Friday 17th – Saturday 25th February 2012 in the Auditorium

Love, duty, power, loss, good and evil are all called into question as one man descends into madness.

Last year the Barn mounted Twelfth Night; in 2009 Andrew Powell Eddy produced A Midsummer Night’s Dream and in 2007 Jack Wood directed Much Ado About Nothing. The popular genre is comedy but this February, Barn audiences are being offered one of the Bard’s greatest tragedies, King Lear, a play which has not been seen on our stage since 1974.

King Lear tells the story of a ‘fictional’ King of England deciding to retire and divide his kingdom between his three daughters. Civil unrest follows, families divide, and loyalties are tested. At the centre of the piece are Lear, who tries to hold onto power despite giving it away, and his three daughters and how they treat him once they have assumed his right to rule.

Tickets

Tickets are on sale now for just £10.

School groups pay only £5 per seat. Teachers interested in booking seats should contact our Education Coordinators Cindy Lawford and Elliot Brown to find out about available workshops and talks on the play.

Free-of-charge pre- and post-show talks:

• Wednesday 22^nd at 7.30pm in the Clubroom
  Director Simon Wallace explains why he has transposed the story to 1920s America.
• Thursday 23^rd at 7.30pm in the Clubroom
  Dr. Cindy Lawford looks at how Shakespeare altered his sources, or why Cordelia has to die.
• Friday 24^th after the performance
  Cast members stay on stage to answer audience questions.