Redtwist Closes an Excellent Season with a Classic

King Lear – Redtwist Theatre

Redtwist Theatre is closing out its 2018-19 season with a production of Shakespeare’s King Lear, the tragic tale of the king whose ego leads him to divide his kingdom between two of this three daughters because the third will not engage in the fawning and flattery her sisters do. Meanwhile, the illegitimate son of the Earl of Gloucester is plotting to get rid of his father and elder brother and take his father’s title, if not more, for himself.

Since there isn’t much to say about the story that hasn’t been said, I can focus on the acting, which was superb. Brian Parry as King Lear has clearly been honing this role for a long time. I last saw him opening Redtwist’s season in Six Degrees of Separation, but it was his star turn as Richard Nixon on Frost/Nixon last year that kept coming to mind throughout the show for me. Both Nixon and Lear end their shows as shells of their former selves, brought down by their hubris. In both shows, Parry infuses those moments with enough humanity that even the knowledge their wounds are self-inflicted doesn’t keep you from feeling bad for them.

The entire cast deserves praise for their work. Jacqueline Grandt as Goneril, particularly in her opening scene flattering her father, was great. It’s a very good actress that can pretend to be bad at acting so well. Liz Cloud as the Fool was the perfect balance of nonsense and insight. Two particular standouts were Mark West as the scheming Edmund, who was clearly just having a ball playing the bad guy, relishing every line, and Cameron Feagin as the Earl of Kent. I last saw her as the lawyer for the prosecution in Promethean Theatre Ensemble’s Gross Indecency about the trials of Oscar Wilde, and she was great there, too. Her final scene brought both the actress and the audience to tears.

The set and costuming is pretty minimal, which suits Redtwist’s small space. The clothes are all modern, if a little on the formal side. Rather than feel anachronistic, it helps underscore various character’s status and roles without huge period costumes getting in the way. The walls are painted to look like stone cut through with veins that could be roots or bone. The effect feels like very conscious choices to get out of the way of the action. In a different space with a different director, King Lear certainly could support a more lavish production. But in Redtwist’s storefront, the bare staging choices support the focus on the characters.

Clocking in at two hours and forty-five minutes with the intermission, this is one of the longer shows you’re likely to see. Given the run time and the subject material, the show could become leaden very easily. In the hands of the extremely talented cast, it does not. They effortlessly find the humor and bite in every scene and interaction, and it propels the show to its tragic end.

I’m not someone who thinks everyone has to like everything. I think people should be willing to try to new things, but in the end, if Shakespeare isn’t your thing, it’s not your thing, and I don’t think constantly trying to convince someone to change their mind is worth anyone’s time. That said, if you haven’t seen a lot of Shakespeare, or avoid it because you think the material is too dense or distant, I strongly recommend giving this production a try. An extremely talented cast finds the beating heart in every line and the finished result is compelling and heartbreaking.

And if you already like Shakespeare, go see this production. It’s amazing.

Highly Recommended

Reviewed by Kevin Curran

Presented July 6-August 4, by Redtwist Theatre, 1044 W, Bryn Mawr, Chicago.

Tickets are available by calling 773-728-7529 or by going to www.redtwist.org.

Additional information about this and other area productions can be found by visiting www.theatreinchicago.com.