Shakespeare is scary, let’s be honest here. I never really know what’s going on, I can’t understand what they’re saying, and I never get the jokes. I can’t pretend to be one of those people who live and breathe William Shakespeare — I honestly like 10 Things I Hate About You a hell of a lot more than Taming of the Shrew — but I am still pretty pumped to be seeing King Lear this Tuesday at the Moore.
Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre does a better job at explaining the play then I ever could so here’s a synopsis from their website:
“Old King Lear, weary of royal duties, proposes to break up his kingdom and divide it among his three daughters. But this rash generosity is cruelly repaid and Lear discovers too late the false values by which he has lived – and, in turn, the suffering common to all humanity.
Its tempestuous poetry shot through with touches of humour and moments of heart-rending simplicity, King Lear is one of the deepest artistic explorations of the human condition.”
Sounds fascinating right? But how is this any different from the scary stuff we all read in high school? For starters, the cast consists of only eight people, some of whom play multiple characters. The whole cast also sings, dances, and plays music in addition to acting.
Still not sold? Here’s the cherry on top: the title character, King Lear, is played by Joseph Marcell, who you may recognize as the butler from Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. How can that not be great?
Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre: King Lear will be at the Moore Theatre November 25 & 26 at 7:30, Wednesday matinee at 2:00
Tickets available here.
More information and a sick-ass trailer at http://www.shakespearesglobe.com/theatre/whats-on/globe-theatre-on-tour/king-lear-2014.
Megan Castillo / Teenage Anarchist / KXSU Reporter