'The Fool's Lear' paved with ingenious intentions

  • BY DUFFY LEWIS
    Special to The Post and Courier
  • Posted: Thursday, April 7, 2011 12:01 a.m.
    UPDATED: Friday, March 23, 2012 6:17 p.m.
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Grant Neale (left) and Randy Neale of 'King's Lear.' The play runs through April 16 at Charleston Ballet Theatre's Black Box, 477 King St. Tickets are $20-$25 in advance by calling (866) 811-4111 or $25–$30 at the door. Visit www.puretheatre.org for more information.
Photo by /Grant Neale (left) and Randy Neale of 'King's Lear.' The play runs through April 16 at Charleston Ballet Theatre's Black Box, 477 King St. Tickets are $20-$25 in advance by calling (866) 811-4111 or $25–$30 at the door. Visit www.puretheatre.org for more information.

Pure Theatre and Nomad Theatrical Company of New York will present the world debut of "The Fool's Lear," a creative adaptation of Shakespeare's "King Lear" told from the Fool's perspective, at the Charleston Ballet Theatre through April 16.

The elderly King Lear split his kingdom in half among his daughters to avoid war, and what happened? War. Lear lost his kingdom, his daughters, his power, his identity and his sanity, but he still had his Fool. "Who is it that can tell me who I am?" Lear begs. "Lear's shadow. ... I am the shadow of a shadow. ... Either I am Lear's Fool or I am nothing," the Fool laments. The king and his fool struggle together in a journey for their identities. The question is: Who's the fool?

In this two-man show performed by brothers , playwright Randy Neale portrays the weary, tortured King Lear, while director Grant Neale captures the acrobatic Fool with energetic stamina. The characters reverse roles, akin to a father/son relationship: The once all-powerful Lear grows despondent and senile and becomes dependent on his entertaining, nurturing knave.

Grant Neale not only portrays the Fool, but all the secondary characters vicariously through clever puppets made out of props; a silver stein with a purple feather serves as a medium for the French knight. The use of props in "The Fool's Lear" is ingenious. The propmaster plus the puppetmaster have achieved a new level of characterization, and with Grant Neale's knack for accents, voices and physical humor, the whole effect is delightful storytelling.

Reminiscent of a fairy tale, the costumes and set design are lighthearted, colorful and incorporate the harlequin pattern. Similar to a large 3-D puzzle, a wooden bed built around a trunk disassembles, like Lear's kingdom, into three sections to be used separately throughout the performance. Above the stage hangs a large, metal mobile that is used throughout to hang props and such. With such an unusual design, the Fool is busy working with so many props. Although Grant Neale stayed in character, his busyness was distracting at times and seemed overwhelming for the actor.

Shakespeare's tragic plot is familiar, and the two characters are endearing, but despite the production's mastery and craft, the emotional connection is upstaged by the intellectual inventiveness of the production. All is not lost. No doubt, "The Fool's Lear" will mature with repeat performances to convey the playwright's good intensions.