Lear’s Fool

4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 

In David Henry Wilson’s play he fills in what  happens to King Lear’s fool when they disappear from Shakespeare’s play.

It opens with the fool being imprisoned in a cell in Dover.

Jill Riddford as the fool is watched over by a guard with a heart, Sam Stopford.

Forced to tell the captain what she knows about France’s invasion which in actual fact  is nothing. So she makes up wild lies about 10,000 men going to attack. 

Cordelia and Lear are then captured, and Lear hears why Cordelia refused to say how much she loved him.

The guard enters and the Fool and Cordelia are put to death by hanging.

The guard frees Lear and gives him his knife. We then hear Lear’s famous end lines.

This play is directed with style by Liz Carruthers. Giving the actors time to explore their motivations.

Jill as the Fool gets all the best lines with some great puns and gags added in.

Sam Stopford gives his guard a heart and soul, who doesn’t agree with his orders, but is too scared to go against them.

Finlay Mclean plays a superbly majestic Lear.

The hanging scene is really effective and sobering using an excellent soundscape, with Lear’s final words ringing out.

If you know King Lear well you might get much more from the play than someone like me who just knows the plot points, however I never felt my attention slip as the performances are so compelling. 

This is a play well worth seeing, especially if you want to add a little to your Shakespeare knowledge without sitting through three hours of Shakespeare.