Local News Matters
Review: Cal Shakes’ dazzling new ‘Lear,’ set in the ’60s Fillmore District, takes the tragedy to another level
By Georgia Rowe | September 15, 2022
Everyone knows King Lear, the volatile monarch who tries to divide his kingdom among his three daughters and loses it all in the process.
But seeing “Lear,” Marcus Gardley’s bold new adaptation of Shakespeare’s monumental tragedy, is enough to make you wonder whether you’ve ever really grasped the full impact of the original play.
Gardley lops off the “King” designation, retelling the story of the flawed title character in bracing contemporary terms, taking it out of the distant past and bringing it into the here and now.
