Notes on "King Lear"

My wife and I saw the production of King Lear at Cal Shakes this afternoon. The weather cooperated wonderfully. The play started at 4:00. It had been a warm, brilliantly clear fall day. The storm scene was a little more than an hour in. Just at the moment the storm scene began a cold evening wind came down the valley. They reinforced one another. Throughout the amphitheater you could see audience members reaching for blankets and bundling close in their jackets. It would be impossible to say whether they were influenced to do so more from the breeze or the imaginary storm being created on the stage. Just as the storm scene ended, the breeze stopped and the sun came out again.

This was a truly moving performance. I found myself in tears towards the end. The roles of Lear and the Fool were each brilliantly played by Jeffery DeMunn and Anthony Fusco, respectively. Lear was played at a more human scale than in other productions I have seen and that made the tragedy the greater. The fool was made to convey one who could see the tragedy as it was about to unfold and was trying to teach Lear by any and every device he could how to avoid it. Often the fool is played with greater detachment.

- J