Armed with only a drum, a guitar, a knife and a chair, this inventive, irreverent and highly accessible one-man adaptation is presented to you from the point of view of LEAR’s long suffering and ever-loyal fool.
‘Oddbodies’ one man King Lear is something of a miniature masterpiece… a brilliantly entertaining, and frequently astonishing evening. A tour de force of physical theatre…’ Christopher James, Poet
The bastard Edmund, haughty Goneril, poor deluded Gloucester, oily Oswald, sweet Cordelia, mad Tom – all the characters from this sad and sorry tale brought to glorious life in a fast paced, funny, poignant and ultimately heartbreaking production.
Adapted & performed by Paul Morel and directed by John Mowat with all of Oddbodies’ trademark physical ingenuity and visual flair, this is an unmissable reworking of one of Shakespeare’s most brilliant plays.
First seen at the 2019 Brighton Fringe Festival, this highly acclaimed production was touring the UK and Europe when Covid struck. Oddbodies is thrilled to be back on the road at last for an Autumn tour with shows in Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Lancs, Glos, Landinam in Wales and Galashiels and Dumfries in Scotland.
Reviews and audience response to LEAR…
‘About as far away from ‘trad & bad’ as you can get, and it’s brilliant… You do not want to miss this’ @BROADWAYBABY
‘A hilarious, fantastic evening’ @BINGEFRINGE
‘It’s hard to think of a more engaging introduction to Shakespeare’s narrative’ @FRINGEGURU
‘A tour de force’ @PENLEETHEATRE
‘Just brilliant – the fool gives you a VIP front seat, lets you in on the plot, makes you feel privileged, special and so, so glad you turned up and didn’t miss this pure treat of a KING LEAR…’
‘Loved it! – Felt KING LEAR was brought alive in a way that was totally convincing – it kept the unbearable tragedy while allowing us to laugh and enjoy the fact that we are still alive and well – FANTASTIC, blown away – Well Done!’
‘Phenomenal! – Moving but laugh-out-loud funny, simple but deeply, deeply complex – thank you’
‘I came to this thinking “urgh not another Shakespeare” but came out of it with my ideals completely flipped. It was fabulous, thank you very much”
‘I really loved the show. It’s incredible to me that you can create such a world with so little’ ”A tour-de-force!! – ***** We were a group age ranged from 11-71 and we all LOVED the production, funny, clever and moving’
‘I loved it. The way he conjures up such distinct, specific characters and creates so much out of so little/nothing!’
‘BRILLIANT!! – This is Shakespeare at his best’
”The performance was superb, full of energy’
‘Amazing energy and fantastic characters’
‘Very cleverly done”
Absolutely fantastic’
‘Mesmerizing’
‘I was riveted…’
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