Review: KING LEAR at Gamut Theatre

Shakespeare’s King Lear is believed to have been written originally around 1605. One of Shakespeare’s tragedies, King Lear explores themes of greed, love, power, betrayal, madness, suffering, and forgiveness. Gamut Theatre Group’s Shakespeare company, after an eight year break, is presenting King Lear under the direction of Thomas Weaver with production stage manager Jess Ross March 7-29.

Every element of this production is well thought out to create an intense, engaging, breathtaking performance. The costumes (Callie Lythgoe, Jen Kilander, and Rebekkah Hurlbert) and makeup, props (Karen Ruch), set pieces (Andrew Nyberg and Ian Potter), lighting (Tristan Stasiulis), and sound (Mike Banks with original music by David Ramón Zayas) immerse the audience in the play’s time and place of Iron-Age Brittania. Director Tom Weaver and fight director Elizabeth Hood deserve a special round of applause. The use of movement in this production is among the best this reviewer has seen. The battle scene in particular is powerful and riveting.

This all-star cast features many names familiar to the Harrisburg area theatre community including Calian Byard (Burgundy), Marcus McGhee (France), Brennen Dickerson (Oswald), Weimy Montero Candelario (Cordelia), Robert Campbell (Cornwall), Gabriella DeCarli (Regan), Diego Sandino (Albany), Rachel Landon (Goneril), Alex Winnick (Edgar), Elizabeth Hood (Edmund), Jeff Wasileski (Gloucester), Hope Mackenzie (The Fool), Sean Adams (Kent), and Clark Nicholson (King Lear). Byard and McGhee take on the roles of two of Cordelia’s suitors. Byard and McGhee infuse their characters with kindness, compassion, and quiet strength, in contrast to the more volatile and treacherous characters. Dickerson’s Oswald is wonderfully menacing, carrying out Goneril’s plots with efficiency and brutality. Candelario is earnest and sweet as the youngest daughter Cordelia, banished and disowned by her father the king. Her interactions with Nicholson’s Lear in the final scenes are beautifully performed, overflowing with expressions of love and forgiveness.

Campbell and DeCarli give new meaning to the word “villain” as they plot against Lear. Their portrayals of Cornwall and Regan, respectively, emphasize the characters’ cold ruthlessness. Campbell and DeCarli use their expressions, posture, and movements to send chills down the audience’s spine as they witness these characters’ cruelty. Sandino and Landon are a study in opposites as Albany and Goneril. Sandino’s Albany is at first meek, bending to his wife’s obsession with power, which Landon plays with a wicked smirk and evil laugh. Sandino handles his character’s arc from ineffectual husband to justice-seeking leader smoothly.

Winnick and Hood take on the roles of half-brothers Edgar and Edmund. Winnick gives one of his best performances to date as Edgar, who disguises himself as poor Tom. Winnick’s transitions between Edgar and poor Tom are carefully crafted, as he alters his expression, movements, and even voice. Hood’s Edmund exudes a sly confidence that draws the audience in, convincing the audience to feel sorry for Edmund as an illegitimate son seeking acknowledgement, to be in awe of Edmund’s scheming, and to experience fear for those who get in his way.

Wasileski’s Gloucester is a complex character who becomes progressively more sympathetic as the play proceeds. His loyalty and tenderness for Lear is touching, and Wasileski and Nicholson play off one another beautifully. The Fool is a pivotal character who points out the truth through satire and riddles. Mackenzie’s portrayal of The Fool is riveting as she embodies the character with her whole being. Her performance is a beautiful example of the importance of intentional, well-crafted movement in telling a story. Adams gives a heartfelt and emotionally complex performance as Kent. His stage presence is a good match for Nicholson’s King Lear, and together these actors propel the action of the play forward. Nicholson’s performance as the title character is wonderfully nuanced, allowing the audience to experience Lear first as a hard-hearted, egotistical ruler and, later, as a tragic character filled with regret.