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King Lear...with a Happy Ending?
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King Lear has changed over the years (Microsoft Clip Art)
"...as always when I struggle to find the truth of something, I turn to story for illumination."
-Madeline L'Engle
The Shakespeare Theatre Company likes to provide its patrons with well-rounded theatre-going experience. One way they do this is by offering lectures and some post-performance discussions. Going to a discussion on the theological aspects of King Lear ("King Lear: A Family Divided") helped me finally make up my mind to go and see it. (Something I will be doing very soon.)
The information and themes presented by Shakespeare Theatre Company Literary Expert Akiva Fox and a clergyman really gave attendees (some of whom were about to see the play later that night) a lot to ponder.
Besides reminding us of how Lear fits in with and deviates from classical Greek tragedy and biblical themes, they mentioned that for a long time people who saw King Lear saw an altered version...one with a happy ending. Seventeenth and eighteenth century audiences saw an ending that the discussion leaders felt today's audiences probably would not trust. We'd likely feel that the ending people saw for a couple of hundred years after Shakespeare's death tied matters up too easily.
We try to make sense of our own lives through stories and it is quite fitting that productions of King Lear have increased during the last 60 years. Director Robert Falls purposely gave this production if King Lear a modern setting (20th century Eastern Europe) so that people couldn't watch it and think that the play's violence and destruction happen elsewhere.
"Lear is the prototypical English language play abou human suffering,"says Fox. Lear tries to quantify love and by doing this he strips it of meaning. Fox notes that viewing Lear's story as one of redemption through suffering is a Christian reading of the play. He adds that Shakepeare subverts this idea. He keeps pulling the rug out from under the audience--each time you think you have reached the great moment of truth, it turns out that there is more chaos around the bend.
So while I am not thrilled by the idea that there will be a lot of unpleasant events taking place on stage, I am excited to see this production, since the glimpse I got at the open rehearsal indicated that this will be a thought-provoking production. I'll let you know what I think.
You can see the Shakespeare Theatre Company's production of King Lear until July 26, 2009.
Check out these posts for more on the Shakespeare Theatre:
(Some of) the play's the thing at King Lear rehearsal
Behind the Scenes with the Shakespeare Theatre Company
The Shakespeare Theatre Company's Ion is Entertaining and Surprising
Free Academy of Classical Acting Performances from the Shakespeare Theatre
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