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previewBare Theatre Preview Youthful Rogue Company Tackles “King Lear,” Which Is Bare Theatre’s Rogue Company will tackle King Lear, which is arguably the top tragedy by English dramatist William Shakespeare (1564-1616), on July 26-28 at Common Ground Theatre in Durham, NC, and Aug. 3-5 at Holly Springs Cultural Center in Holly Springs. “King Lear was not originally scheduled in our season,” reveals Bare Theatre artistic director Carmen-maria Mandley. “However, with the pool of young people we attracted this summer, I felt it was a better fit and gave more opportunity for the young actors we had to chomp into really meaty text. Since Rogue Company is focused on 13-20-year-olds, we wanted to make sure that each and every ensemble member had a LOT to do. Lear provided us that outlet.” Mandley adds, “We decided to place our play costume-wise within the Roman occupation [of Great Britain, 43-410 A.D.]. Learning to walk, talk, flip, and run in togas is always a funny problem to face. The cast and crew have been wonderful; I really can’t complain about anything having to do with Lear. These young people and guest artists are committed to telling this story. I can’t wait for an audience.… “I love the text of Lear,” says Mandley. “Even when it is at its most cruel moments, the text never ever falters. It weaves beautifully in the dark world it creates from the get go. Villains believe they are justified. They fight for their point of view until it turns completely bleak and it doesn’t look good for anyone involved. Very few are spared the dark world of this play. And even the journey they have to go through to come out the other side is terrifically hard. What I like best about this play is the density of the text and how these young actors wear the words.” When the curtain rises, Carmen-maria Mandley says, “Lear (Alex Davis), the aging King of Britain, decides to step down from his throne and divide his kingdom among his three daughters. First, he puts the daughters through a test, asking which one of them loves him best. Goneril (Sloan Thompson) and Regan (guest artist Rebecca Blum) offer flattering answers, while the youngest, Cordelia (Kelsey Heathcoat), remains silent. Lear flies into a rage and banishes Cordelia, who then marries the King of France (guest Artist Richard Butner). “Goneril and Regan quickly begin to change things for the worse inside of Lear’s Kingdom and Lear flees into the storm, accompanied only by his Fool (Tara Pozo) and the disguised Kent playing Caius the servant (guest artist Heather J. Hackford) Meanwhile, Gloucester (guest Artist Matt Schedler) is experiencing family problems as well. His illegitimate son Edmund (Samuel Mohar) has convinced him that his legitimate son Edgar (Austin Krieger) is out [to get] him,” Mandley explains. She adds, “Edgar learns of the accusations, and having no other way, disguises himself as ‘Poor Tom’ and runs into the storm, as Lear had before. Not wanting to give away what follows, we can only say, blood, death, redemption and, ultimately, the downfall of the kingdom as we know it follows. Other key players along the journey are Garrett Stien-Seroussi (Doctor, Messenger, Knight, old man), Brent Rappaport (Duke of Albany), Matt Fields (Duke of Burgundy, messenger), and Sasha Brown (Oswald).” In addition to director Carmen-maria Mandley, who doubles as set designer for the show, the King Lear creative team includes associate director Katherine Randle, Bare Theatre managing director and fight choreographer Heather Hackford, lighting designer Andy Parks, costume designers Jeremy Clos and Jennifer Aiello, properties master Richard Butner, and stage manager Kacey Reynolds. The show will also feature original music by Proxy. In keeping with its moniker, Mandley says, the set for this Bare Theatre production is “Spare: only a few platforms” and the costumes are “Roman, Roman, Roman.” She adds, “[Lighting designer] Andy Parks makes a beautiful dark world. We have the great opportunity to perform at Common Ground this week and in Holly Springs the next. [They are] two very different spaces with very different lights.” Carmen-maria Mandley warns, “[King Lear] Is not for the squeamish. There is violence in the production. It’s a tumultuous world. This, our third Rogue production, reassures us as a company that Rogue is important. Working with young people each summer and offering them a free opportunity to work and play with adult professional guest artists can sometimes be the greatest learning opportunity for all of us that are older. We learn from them each and every day. They are fearless. They embrace these words as if they were their own. They wear them well. I hope everyone will come to celebrate this work.” Bare Theatre’s Rogue Company presents King Lear Thursday-Friday, July 26-27, at 8 p.m.; Saturday, July 28, at 2 and 8 p.m.; and Sunday, July 29, at 2 p.m. at Common Ground Theatre, 4815B Hillsborough Rd., Durham, North Carolina, and Friday-Saturday, Aug. 3-4, at 8 p.m. and Sunday, Aug. 5, at 2 p.m. at Holly Springs Cultural Center, 128 S. Main St., Holly Springs, North Carolina. $15 ($7 students, seniors, and active-duty military personnel). COMMON GROUND THEATRE: 919/771-3281 or http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/16426 and HOLLY SPRINGS CULTURAL CENTER: 919/567-4000 or etix. BARE THEATRE: http://www.baretheatre.org/next.html. SHAKESPEARE RESOURCES (e-text courtesy University of Virginia): http://etext.virginia.edu/shakespeare/. King Lear (e-text courtesy UVa): http://etext.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/ShaKLF.html (1623 First Folio) and http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/MobLear.html (1866 Globe Edition). COMMON GROUND THEATRE: http://www.cgtheatre.com/. HOLLY SPRINGS CULTURAL CENTER: http://www.hollyspringsnc.us/dept/park/culture/. |