Shakespeare at Tobacco Factory is no tragic performance (From Gazette Series)

Shakespeare at Tobacco Factory is no tragic performance

8:30am Thursday 16th February 2012 in Leisure By Liza-Jane Gillespie

SHAKESPEARE’S King Lear at the Tobacco Factory is another fine example of why the Bard’s work should be seen in this intimate setting.

Veteran actor John Shrapnel did not steal the show, but as well as bringing presence and power to his portrayal of the flawed King of Britain, the actor allowed his co-stars to blossom and perform to their full potential.

Shrapnel gave a spell-bounding performance of a man with a tormented soul – driven mad by the betrayal of two of his daughters.

King Lear, one of Shakespeare’s darkest, most violent tragedies, tells the story of a proud and arrogant king who forces his three daughters to tell him how much they love him. In return he promises to carve up his land giving them a third each.

However, his youngest daughter Cordelia refuses and is cut off from the family. Unfortunately for King Lear, who committed the cardinal sin of parenting and had a favourite, treating his two eldest daughters very differently - they take their revenge.

Goneril and Regan, played by Julia Hills and Dorothea Myer-Bennett, orchestrate the downfall of their father who is slowly driven insane.

The violence and passion of the second half with the eventual death of most of the cast brings a climatic end to this atmospheric play.

Performances by Christopher Staines, who plays Edgar son of the Earl of Gloucester, and Christopher Bianchi, who plays Lear’s Fool and provides the comedic relief, are worth watching.

King Lear is at the Tobacco Factory until Saturday, March 24.