Bard on the Beach Shakespeare Festival, June 4 to Sept. 26 at Vanier Park in Vancouver. Tickets start at $26, available at bardonthebeach.org or 604-739-0559.
No family is perfect, but King Lear and his daughters set the dysfunction bar pretty high.
From false flattery to exile and execution, William Shakespeare's tragedy King Lear - considered one of his darkest and most depressing plays - follows the elderly King of Britain as he descends into madness after attempting to divide his estate between his daughters and sons-in-law.
The family drama that drives the story forward, and leads to dire consequences, is perhaps why audiences can continue to relate to this play more than 400 years after it was written.
"What's relevant about this play is that older parents can be challenging, and Lear is not faultless in this play," says North Vancouver actor Colleen Wheeler, who will portray Lear's eldest daughter, Goneril, when the tragedy hits Bard on the Beach this month. "I think we can all relate to wills and all that stuff. People fight over money and power and so I think that's really relevant to people dealing with aging parents today."
In the first act, King Lear, wanting to retire, declares he will divide his kingdom between
his three daughters based on their flattery and professions of love.
"The two older daughters, myself and Regan, flatter him. They do as he says. And the youngest daughter, Cordelia, decides she doesn't want to flatter him, she's just going to state bluntly and factually that she loves him as a daughter should and no more, no less," Wheeler explains.
Infuriated by Cordelia's response, Lear banishes her and splits his estate between Goneril and Regan. But he soon lives to regret his decision when his eldest daughters and their husbands turn against him.
Goneril is no doubt a villain, set on overthrowing her father. The challenge for Wheeler, now in her 12th season with Bard on the Beach, is to identify what drives her deceitful behaviour. Like many of the characters in this play, Wheeler says, Goneril is hungry for power.
"I think that's one of the big things that motivates her."
Presented in collaboration with Theatre Calgary, and directed by the company's artistic
director Dennis Garnhum, this production of King Lear recently wrapped up a month-long run in Calgary with Canadian actor Benedict Campbell in the titular role.
"It's a very epic role and Ben is amazing. He's just got this real sense of humanity about him that the audience really related to," Wheeler notes.
Goneril is quite unlike the mild female characters found in much of the drama produced during Shakespeare's day.
"She does really bad things, which is fun for an actor to play, and especially a woman," Wheeler says. "These female characters in this play are real warriors. They're tough, they're not reacting to the situations around them because of the men, they're actually driving the action in the scenes and it's a very masculine feeling, so it's really a gift to be able to play that as a woman."
Together, it is Goneril and Regan who set King Lear off on his journey of self-discovery.
"When everything's stripped away from him, he realizes the mistakes he's made in life, towards Cordelia, as a king. And ultimately it's too late," Wheeler says.
During Bard on the Beach's 26th season, King Lear will be staged in the 733-seat mainstage theatre tent in repertory with The Comedy of Errors, Shakespeare's farce about two sets of long-lost twins. Directed by Scott Bellis, this rendition has a Victorian steampunk twist.
Meanwhile this season, the 270-seat studio theatre tent will be the venue for Love's Labour's Lost. Directed by Daryl Cloran, the comedy will be set in a 1920s Chicago and feature live jazz music. It plays in repertory with Shakespeare's Rebel, based on the 2013 novel by C.C. Humphreys and adapted by him for the stage.
Wheeler plays Queen Elizabeth I in Humphrey's historical fiction about John Lawley, Shakespeare's fight choreographer at the Globe Theatre.
"Through him you sort of rollick through the Elizabethan times and politics," Wheeler says. The story weaves through the political landscape of the time and features a cast of familiar characters, including Richard Burbage, the star of Shakespeare's theatre company, and the Earl of Essex.
"Shakespeare in this play is a secondary character. The main character is
Lawley and the love relationship he has with a character named Tess," Wheeler explains. "Essex's rebellion in Ireland is sort of the main theme of the whole play."
Shakespeare's Rebel is directed by Christopher Gaze, the artistic director and founder of Bard on the Beach.
"I've never been directed by Christopher Gaze, but he's perfect as a director for this show," Wheeler says. "The guy's got a great sense of humor, he has a great sense of fightmanship and knows a lot about swords at the time, and he's having a great time directing us."
PLAY RUN DATES AND SPECIAL EVENT FOR 2015
- The Comedy of Errors, June 4 to Sept. 26 (Mainstage) - King Lear, June 18 to Sept. 20 (Mainstage) - Love's Labour's Lost, June 19 to Sept. 20 (Studio Stage) - Shakespeare's Rebel, July 2 to Sept. 19 (Studio Stage) - Bard-B-Q Fireworks, July 25, July 29 and Aug. 1. Includes a play, dinner, on-site entertainment and exclusive fireworks viewing. start time: 5 p.m. Tickets from $95.
- Chor Leoni: Manely Canadian, Mondays, June 22 and 29 at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. Tickets $15 to $37.
- Wine Wednesdays: July 15, Aug. 12 and Sept. 9 at 6 p.m. $20 (must purchase play ticket for same evening). - Vancouver Symphony Orchestra: Live At Bard, Mondays, July 13 and 20 at 7:30 p.m. - Opera Arias: Gilbert Sullivan! Mondays, Aug. 24 and 31 at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. - Discovering Shakespeare Talks: Saturdays, June 20 and 27, July 18* and Aug. 8 at 11:30 a.m. A lively look at each play with Bard's Education Director, Mary Hartman. (*guest lecturer: Shakespeare's Rebel playwright C.C. Humphreys) - Exploring Shakespeare Talks: Mondays, July 13 and 20, Aug. 10* and 31 at 7:30 p.m. Delve deeper into each play with SFU's Paul Budra. (*guest lecturer: Shakespeare's Rebel playwright C.C. Humphreys)
