 | King Lear |  |
"How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is
To have a thankless child!" Act I, scene iv
Written: 1605
Piven Theatre Workshop ; 2001 Evanston, Illinois
Starring :
Reviewed on : 2001-09-30 14:15:55 ; Reviewed by : Antonia Mandry
| The second season of the Piven Theatre comes to a conclusion with Byrne Piven (1930 - 2002) performing the eponymous character in Shakespeare's most dysfunctional play. Appropriately enough, this production is directed by Byrne's own daughter Shira who brings a intimate knowledge of the space with her to maximize the action. The only jarring note in this particular production was the miscalculated move of substituting rocks for every imaginable prop (pebbles for letters, etc.). I understand that the idea was to substitute the elemental (earth, fire, et al) however it created a wondrous amount of noise that was spectacularly distracting and disturbing. The set design by Danila Korogodsky was beautiful however, filled with warm tones and symmetrical shapes. Most impressive (and the Theatre's constant strength) are the major performances. Most notable where James Meredith's passionate Edgar, Larry Grimm's geek-ish Edmund, F. David Roth's magnificent Fool and Gita Tanner's sublimely evil Regan. Byrne Piven as Lear, however, carried the production in the palm of his hand with his spectacularly powerful and full-throated performance. His Lear was leonine, self-involved yet desperately pitiable in his misjudgments. The 71-year-old's sheer energy pervades the character (perhaps implicit energy since he doesn't jump around stage much) and carries Lear from strength to defeat to reunion and death. The extreme pathos of the play is given full range within this production.
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Sir John Gilbert, R.A.,
Lear and the Fool
Reviews
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March 4, 2010 |  | Everyman Theatre
July 22, 2009 |  | Theatre Project Si
November 13, 2008 |  | A Young Vic/Headlong Theatre/Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse co-production
November 5, 2008 | | Shakespeare’s Globe
June 1, 2008 |  | Royal Shakespeare Company
December 5, 2007 |  | Stratford Festival of Canada
August 4, 2007 |  | Goodman Theatre
September 19, 2006 |  | Marin Shakespeare Company
July 8, 2006 |  | Shotgun Players
May 13, 2006 |  | Actors' Shakespeare Project
October 1, 2005 |  | Piven Theatre Workshop
2001 |  | Chicago Shakespeare Theatre
2001 |  | AUN Company
2000 |  | Ninagawa Company/RSC
1999 |
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