Preview- Lear- Shakespeare in the Port
12-4-15
By: Theo Blake
“Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks! Rage! Blow!”- King Lear
Shakespeare in the Port’s tagline for this year has been “The Storm is Coming…” With producing Lear, which has an iconic storm moment on an outdoor stage, are they strategically planning for rain fall or daring the heavens to open up? Shakespeare in the Port is Hong Kong’s answer to its lack of accessible, outdoor theatre. Built of similar concepts of Singapore’s, Tokyo’s and NYC’s Shakespeare in the Park, it builds it self on three mission statements. Accessible, Affordable and Entertaining theatre for all. They even avoid traditional funding schemes by raising their capital upfront on a crowdfunding platform with discount tickets for fans and friends.
This year they’re producing three main stage shows along with several special events including a community arts festival with 8 bands and performance acts on May 3rd, a 24 Hour Play festival on April 26th and special appearances from guest artists, like the Peel Street Poets and their touring production, Sorry, Shakespeare! Their main shows for this year are Lear, The Tempest and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Lear is being directed by local director, Ben Margalith who recently starred in a production of Waiting for Godot by Theatre du Pif.
“I was so excited to get to work with Ben after getting a small experience with him last year at Shakespeare in the Port,” says Artistic Director, Meaghan McGurgan. “He came into our last weekend of Taming of the Shrew with three days prep and blew audiences away with Petruchio. He’s incredibly professional and hard working. He’s really an actor’s director. Very kind and intuitive with performers. I’ve enjoyed watching his rehearsals and hearing his thoughts on the text. It’s going to be a very interesting production of Lear.”
SITP describes the story as simply as, “A mother and her daughters. A father and his sons. A country in ruin. And a storm fast approaching. Enter the world of Lear, the story of a Queen’s fall from grace and the death, betrayal, and tragedy that follows.” This lack of fluff in the description helps me to think that this production will be bare bones, raw emotion and theatre without cheap tricks.
This production of Lear is a little different than the usual production in that a woman is taking on the titular role. Alexandra Jacobs is an American born actress who has worked in Hong Kong for several years. She performed in the Heckler award winning production of Doubt, last year and has done several other pieces over the year. Ben assures me that casting a woman as Lear wasn’t a gimmick or because of lack of men at auditions, “It wasn’t about gender. At the most basic level Alexandra was the best person for the job. She brings something amazing and visceral to the role of Lear. Its hard to put into words, she just absolutely gives it her heart and soul… There are certain scenes that break my heart every time I watch them. I don’t want to give it away, but there are some powerful moments in store for the audiences to experience.”
Ben continues… “It is a play about the corruption of power; the betrayal of those closest to the people in charge. Its a play about family, about love, and about pride. Above all this play is a human story, regardless of nationality, culture, race, and gender; its a universal that everyone can identify with.”
Actors of all different races, nationalities, acting backgrounds and sizes are taking on roles. It’s a great reflection of the variety of talent on Hong Kong’s stage. You’ll have a chance to see new people mixed in with those familiar faces. (Not that I would know... I'm relatively new here.) I had a chance to hear from a couple of the actors. Vanessa Noble is playing Kent. She describes the play as “Powerful and heartbreaking.” and also takes a few moments to talk about her director, Ben. “He always gave us direct ideals to work from rather than 'can you now give me longingly' as an example. It's difficult to play out a farfetched emotion especially when dealing with Shakespeare, so having a director who understood the play, to a point where he knows every line, was great.”
Tickets for Lear are more than reasonable compared to other shows on the market. For fans of the Bard that are looking for something very affordable, go with the weekday tickets that are only 150hkd. Shows start at 7:30pm Wednesday through Fridays. For people wanting to make a day of things at Hong Kong's only outdoor rep theatre, you can see Lear and the other two productions happening on Saturday and Sunday for just 300HKD. Matinees play at 3pm and 5pm on top of the 7:30pm show. For a whole days’ entertainment, relaxing out on the green with a bottle of wine, you can’t beat the price. Tickets are currently available on Ticketflap.com and all kids under 12 can be exposed to Shakespeare for free.
“Do yourself a favor and get a ticket!” says Ben.
Shakespeare in the Port is playing from April 16th to May 3rd. For more information, click here.
Comments
John Chew
As a New Yorker, and regular Shakespeare in the Park attendee, I am so pleased that Hong Kong's artistic community has brought something similar to the city. I very much look forward to this year's production.
20 April 2015