King Lear 2012

Trevor Cooper Gloucester and John Shrapnel Lear (Photo: Graham Burke)

This play was SATTF ’s very first production twelve years ago

The 2012 production opened at the Tobacco Factory on 9th February and played there until 24th March.

Directed by Andrew Hilton

John Shrapnel in the title role as King Lear

One of the pinnacles of world drama, and Shakespeare’s greatest masterpiece, King Lear is the most complete account we have of what it is – and what it is not – to be human. At a time when autocratic regimes around the world are under unprecedented threat it has also acquired a new contemporary relevance.

“Andrew Hilton’s commanding production of Richard II … is once again a revelation”
Elisabeth Mahoney - The Guardian (22 Feb 2011)

John Shrapnel is a commanding actor with a long and enviable track record in both theatre and film.
He has a huge raft of work with The National Theatre from Olivier's days to Hytner's, played in films for Warner Brothers, Dreamworks and Working Title and has worked extensively in Television and Radio. He recently played Gloucester opposite Pete Postlethwaite in Rupert Goold's Liverpool Production.

'John is a fiercely intelligent and explosive actor and I know he will relish our space and make us all sit up.'
Artistic Director, Andrew Hilton

Press Reviews

: 'Twelve years ago, Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory was launched with a production of King Lear. Now the wheel has spun and the lauded company return to the play, with John Shrapnel as the rash king. There are no gimmicks here; instead, all that counts is the actors and their words....every word sounds as if it had been written yesterday.' (Jane Edwardes)

'The Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory seasons have been one of the glories of Bristol theatre for the past decade or more. Each show feels like an event: the 240-seat theatre is always packed, the audience contains more than its fair share of young people, and the plays are staged in the round with exemplary clarity and immediacy.' (John Campbell)

**** The Independent: 'This is a Lear that appals, shocks and saddens – just as it should.' (Elizabeth Davis)

****The Arts Desk: 'The company, under the inspired artistic direction of Andrew Hilton, opened its 2012 season with a brand new production that displays all the qualities that have made this remarkable company unique in Britain.' (Mark Kidel)

***The Guardian:'What Shrapnel gives us is a Lear who, even if he learns through suffering, remains a king in his own mind.' (MichaelBillington)

***** Venue Magazine: 'Stripped down and fast-paced, but above all on the button, this is a version of ‘Lear’ which ranks amongst the best – and amongst the best productions that SATTF has brought to the Tob Fac stage. So far.' (Tom Phillips)

The Stage: 'When Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory launched on an unsuspecting Bristol public with this self-same tragic masterpiece at the turn of the millennium, there were just a dozen people out front on opening night. Yet by the end of the run, word of mouth had already sparked a rush for tickets and such is the company’s enviable reputation 12 years later that a sell-out is assured for the entire six weeks.' (Jeremy Brien)

Bristol 247: 'King Lear kicks off Shakespeare Season at the Tobacco Factory – with a confidence and aptitude that comes with twelve years of producing the Bard at the very top level.' (Max Boon)

Exeunt Magazine: '‎'Students and sixth-formers plagued with essay questions about the Lear and Gloucester double-plot would do well to see this production........SATTF’s production is more radical in its apparent conventionality than many a highly conceptual ‘re-working’.' (Tom Phillips)

'And Shrapnel’s Lear, moving from authoritatively-dressed ruler, through sweaty derangement in a string vest to eventual white-clothed serenity with Cordelia, inhabits the costume changes with a path from brisk orders through flashes of insight amid a turbulent mind to ultimate understanding. Rarely has a Lear, or a Lear, so cohered in its various stages.' (Timothy Ramsden)

Gazette: '‎'Shrapnel gave a spell-bounding performance of a man with a tormented soul.'(Liza-Jane Gillespie)

British Theatre Guide: 'Regional theatre audiences may be falling, according to newspaper reports, but in Bristol, Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory continues to go from strength to strength, with sell-out shows of its latest production, King Lear. (Pete Wood)

The Stage article by Stanley Wells on 'Staging King Lear': 'Hilton's admirably clear and intelligent production'

Cast

John Shrapnel                        King Lear
Julia Hills                                Goneril            
Dorothea Myer-Bennett         Regan  
Eleanor Yates                         Cordelia
Alan Coveney                          Albany             
Byron Mondahl                       Cornwall
Simon Armstrong                   Kent
Trevor Cooper                         Gloucester       
Christopher Staines                Edgar
Jack  Whitam                           Edmund           
Christopher Bianchi                 Lear's Fool
Paul Brendan                           Oswald            
Benjamin O'Mahony                2nd Knight
Piers Wehner                           Curan
Danann McAleer                       as cast

Paul Currier                              France/ 2nd Attendant
John Sandeman                        Burgundy/ 2nd Captain (the Herald)

Rehearsal images

King Lear rehearsals by Graham Burke

Production

Director                     Andrew Hilton
Associate Director     Dominic Power
Designer                     Harriet de Winton
Composer                   Elizabeth Purnell
Lighting Designer       Matthew Graham

Cast
John  Shrapnel                                     King Lear
Julia Hills                                             Goneril            
Dorothea Myer-Bennett                     Regan  
Eleanor Yates                                      Cordelia
Christopher Bianchi                            Albany             
Byron Mondahl                                    Cornwall
Simon Armstrong                                 Kent
Trevor Cooper                                     Gloucester       
Christopher Staines                             Edgar
Jack  Whitam                                       Edmund           
Dudley Sutton                                       Lear's Fool
Paul Brendan                                        Oswald            
The cast includes Benjamin O'Mahony, Piers Wehner, Danann McAleer, Paul Currier and John Sandeman.
Production
Director                                                 Andrew Hilton
Associate Director                                Dominic Power
Designer                                                 Harriet de Winton
Composer                                               Elizabeth Purnell
Lighting Designer                                 Matthew Graham

Please note since first announced there has been a change to the casting.