The Suffering of King Tragedy

Haring Lear: Souvenir Program

The tragedy opened its curtain with the scene of the King deciding which part of his Kingdom will go to a specific daughter. As said earlier, the King leaned more on the greedy words of Goneril and Regan. Their sugar-coated words of their love and glory to the King made them easily own a part of the kingdom. Meanwhile, the truthful Cornelia was banished from the kingdom even if she has the best intention among the three. The tragedy began for the King. Blinded by the cheesy words his greedy daughters told him, gave the third piece of the kingdom to the husbands of the two full-of-hungers for kingdom. His suffering will then begin. The tragedy continues.

I can say that the play has a very creative mind. As stated earlier, the main three causes of King Lear’s tragedy-filled life are her daughters. The director of the play chose men to act as the daughters. Aside from the daughters being male actors, one thing distinct about the play is that most of the actors are bald. Only King Lear, the old man, has the hair in the entire play.

The music used in the whole play was very engaging. Intense music played as intense scenes come to the viewers eyes. I really enjoyed the scene when the main scene stops and a guy who’s almost naked passed through the stage and induce blood to the scene. He’s like an angel of death, bringing judgment to Gloster. The music seemed like cabaret music, a sexy one that balances the gore of the blood. 

Haring Lear: CD Cover

In terms of production design, the set is very well-thought about. The throne that the king sat seemed more than a normal king’s throne. The stage was really designed for the rain, the funny one of all their props. I had a funny feeling when seeing the black-guys using shower-like props to act as rain. It is a creative and distinct way of showing rain. Knowing that it is a closed theater, a thrust stage to be exact, they used really elements to make the play “wet.” The mountain scene also is a creative scene for me. They used boxes to signify that the blind man, Gloster, is climbing a mountain. Aside from the boxes the said actor climbed, the electric fans in the scene were also a funny one to see in the set. The fans symbolized the air in the mountains.

Haring Lear: Show Ticket

In terms of costume, it was also creative. The play being themed with black costumes really gave an emotion that it will be a sad ending. King Lear, after retiring from his kingship became modern. He wore a polo, a Hawaiian themed outfit to be exact and it is paired with a pair of modern slippers. The led lights that embraced the necks of Regan and Goneril were also creative. It symbolized the royalty of the two. For the Lakayo, the puppet also is a good choice for the set. Lastly, I really love Cornelia’s costume. The white overalls she wore at start symbolized that she is really the good one in the story. Moreover, the last costume of Cornelia had left a different feeling for me. She wore a white plastic bag to cover her body.

For the actors acting, they really acted well. I can say no negative about how they acted. I really enjoyed when the Lakayo acted, how he tells the King about the foolishness he had done. Also, I enjoyed Oswaldo being on stage. He is the comedy in the tragedy. His lines that seemed foolish were the balancing act for the play. Everyone acted well that everyone deserves a standing ovation. Especially King Lear, who was a strong personality and ended up losing his mind at the end.

Overall, it was a good play. It is a different approach on the play knowing that it really has a brutal ending. Almost every important starting character died in the end but their acting served well the play. Haring Lear, a PETA’s production, is a must watch. A tragic story full of suffering and pain yet full of fun and smiles at the end.