‘King Lear’: the apocalyptic version
No fairies in Shakespeare by the Sea’s production
It’s 100 years into the future. Global warming has ruined the Earth. There is no gas, electricity or advanced technology of any sort. Greed and despair abound.
It’s the perfect setting for a Shakespeare play, if Shakespeare had lived through an apocalypse.
The Shakespeare by the Sea Festival is opening its final production of the season, “King Lear,” tonight — with no fairies in sight.
Set in Newfoundland 100 years from now, this is the apocalyptic version of the classic play.
“It is a bleak existence,” director Jenn Deon said in a statement. “The bullets and batteries have run out, and industrialism has not yet righted itself to create widespread commerce. Life is lived at its barest essentials. Society has returned to autocratic rule and resources are limited to those that can be reached by human or animal foot.
Deon told The Telegram the choice of setting for the play was, believe it or not, a natural one. It’s a particularly dark play, one in which the characters refer to big change having occurred, and required no change to the script to set it 100 years in the future, something the festival won’t do.
“We never mess with the text. Everything that we do design-wise has to be textually evi- dent. Really, you can’t set it in a cowboy western without some basis in the text that leads it there,” she explained.
The production stars Deon’s brother, Brian d’Eon from BC, as King Lear. D’Eon last appeared in a festival production in 2001, playing Shylock in “The Merchant of Venice.”
“Last time I was here, Jenny told me to get older and then come back to play Lear,” d’Eon, 60, joked.
Sister and brother both admit working together has had its awkward times.
“I think we would both say there have been some weird moments,” Deon said, laughing. “But ultimately it’s rewarding. We have a pretty good rule at the house: we don’t talk about the show a lot at home. We watch baseball and play Scrabble instead.”
“King Lear” opens tonight and will run every Friday and Saturday at 6 p.m. until Aug. 18 on the Tattoo Field, next to the Signal Hill Visitor Centre. Tickets are $20 ($15 for unwaged seniors and students), and include a site pass to Signal Hill national historic site. Performances depend on the weather and seating is on the grass, so audience members are advised to dress warmly and bring a blanket or chair.
More information on the Shakespeare by the Sea Festival is available online at www.shakespearebytheseafestival.com.
The bullets and batteries
have run out, and industrialism has not yet righted itself to create widespread commerce. Life is lived at its barest
essentials.
Director Jenn Deon