‘King Lear’ @ Fair Assembly

Graphic by Bob Hall; photos courtesy of Fair Assembly

LEAR: Who is it that can tell me who I am?
FOOL: Lear’s shadow.

A willful and unwise old king gives away his power and wealth—but doesn’t think his comfortable life will change. ‘Thou shouldst not have been old till thou hadst been wise,” his faithful Fool tells him quietly.

From velvet robes and a gold crown to nakedness on a stormy night—with nowhere to go. That’s the trajectory of Shakespeare’s magnificent study of power and mortality, King Lear. Performed in the Latino Cultural Center’s black box theater, the actor-created, actor-driven company Fair Assembly gives us an uncluttered and dynamic version of the story. Written late in Shakespeare’s career, King Lear is often violent and always challenging—with some of the playwright’s most complex language and thought.

For that reason, perhaps, Fair Assembly’s production—co-directed by Emily Ernst, Ian Ferguson, and Sara Romersberger with minimalist staging and vivid character portraits—keeps us “sorted” from beginning to end. We get past the “who’s who?” of the cast quickly: these actors know what they’re saying and who their characters are…and so do we.

Proud, quick-tempered Lear is played by the upright and rich-voiced Dennis Raveneau, every inch the monarch—making his swift downfall all the more striking. Daughters Goneril (Betsy Roth), Regan (Caitlin Chapa), and Cordelia (Elizabeth Akudugu) are chips off the old gent’s block: each of them cool and proud—though when Lear asks them to express their love for him (in exchange for a share of his kingdom), the first two lay it on thick…while Cordelia is unwilling to “perform” on request, for reasons Shakespeare leaves us to ponder.

Roth’s Goneril is hard-eyed, a born leader; her husband the Duke of Albany (Brian Gibson) is deferential and soft-spoken. Chapa’s Regan is more sensual in her relationship to the wired and bloody-minded Duke of Cornwall (Christian Taylor), but soon shows she has sharp edges too.

Around them are the usual crowd: longtime courtiers, rivals, friends and enemies. The Duke of Kent (Jon Garrard) is a straight-arrow guy and Lear loyalist, and the Duke of Gloucester (Ed Woodall) a genial host and old friend to Lear, with a pair of sons he doesn’t know (as well as he thinks): uncomplicated heir Edgar (Brandon James Walker), and crafty bastard-born Edmund (Mac Welch), one of Shakespeare’s charming, smiling villains.

Bouncing between the courts is the wily courtier Oswald (Blake Hametner), well-oiled and entirely concerned with staying “in” with whoever’s on top at the moment. And Eli Williams, Eduardo Velez III, and Arden Carethers carry some smaller and ensemble roles well, including Velez’ turn as the rescuing King of France.

It seems right to let Lear’s Fool (the engaging and warm Emily Ernst)—the old king’s companion, playmate, counselor, defender—round out the list. We need the Fool close by, to lead us along, to hold our hands as we sit through this sometimes agonizing piece of theater, and to keep our hearts from despair.

The Fool’s wit, humor, and truth-telling compassion make Lear almost bearable. In Shakespeare’s time and after, the roles of the Fool and Cordelia were often played by the same young man (or eventually, the same actresss); their fates are intertwined with Lear’s, and lend a terrible weight to Kent’s final words: "Vex not his ghost: O, let him pass! He hates him / That would upon the rack of this tough world / Stretch him out longer."

Serious Shakespeare in air-conditioned comfort? Such a deal for a play you won’t soon forget.

Tickets: https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/6312358

WHEN: August 8-17, 2024
WHERE: Latino Cultural Center, 2600 Live Oak Street, Dallas (free parking)
WEB: fairassembly.com