King Lear July 13, 2007

Betrayal, greed, madness and death provide the underlying themes of Shakespeare’s greatest tragedy King Lear, which will play Riverside Theatres Parramatta for 18 performances from July 13.

A father’s trust is destroyed by his children and a realm is brought to its knees by lust and cruelty. In a misguided attempt to test the love of his daughters Goneril, Regan and Cordelia, the ageing King Lear divides his Kingdom between them. As Goneril and Regan become vicious rivals in a grasp for power, events spiral into murder, insanity and war.

Following the success of Hamlet, director Mark Kilmurry and Studio Company’s production of King Lear is a highly physical, stark and compelling interpretation of Shakespeare’s powerful tragedy with its penetrating observations on human suffering and kinship on a cosmic scale.

“King Lear is one of the greatest of Shakespeare's plays, bringing together two universal themes,” said producer Camilla Rountree. “It is first a domestic drama about conflict between fathers and children caught in deadly sibling rivalry. It can also be read as a contemporary allegory of the catastrophic result of the arbitrary division of nations. While the themes alone make it an exciting project in today's world, it is equally exciting to see the unique theatrical vision of Mark Kilmurry and the Studio Company actors bring these great characters to life.”

Patrick Dickson stars as King Lear with Ben Ager, Vanessa Downing, Ksenja Logos, Brian Meegan, Daniel Mitchell, Toni Scanlan and John Trutwin. Patrick has been acting professionally for more than 30 years and is best known to audiences as Jack Gibson in the incredibly successful ABC drama Sea Change. Patrick also played Claudias in last year’s Hamlet at Riverside and has worked with the Sydney Theatre Company, the Ensemble, Griffin and many other companies. He has toured nationally with Bell Shakespeare and performed at arts festivals nationally and internationally.

“King Lear is a dark, disturbed refection of Hamlet; an absurd beautiful grotesque comedy about human frailty,” said director Mark Kilmurry.

“Mark Kilmurry leads a finely tuned ensemble in delivering an engagingly paced, imaginatively staged and strikingly clear performance.” The Sydney Morning Herald

King Lear
VENUE: Riverside Theatres, Corner Church and Market Streets, Parramatta
DATES: Friday 13 - Saturday 28 July
TIMES: Fri 13, Sat 14, Mon 16, Fri 20, Sat 21, Fri 27 & Sat 28 at 7.30pm; Thurs 19 & 26 at 6.30pm; Sat matinee 28 July at 2.15pm; Tues 17, Wed 18, Thurs 19, Fri 20, Mon 23, Tues 24, Wed 25, Thurs 26 at 11am
SINGLE TICKET PRICE: Adults $47, Conc $42, Under 30 is $32, Under 16 $27
Fri/Sat evenings, Adults $50, Concessions $45, 30 and under $35, 16 and under $30
BOOKINGS: Riverside Box Office 8839 3399 or www.riversideparramatta.com.au

Official Website: http://www.riversideparramatta.com.au