Community Theatre, Thetford, Vermont.

King Lear by William Shakespeare

directed by Fergus Ryan

 

To be performed July 10-13, 17-20, and 24-27

Rehearsal schedule TBD, beginning end of April/early May

 

Auditions (please come to one of these dates): 

3/13 from 6:30-9:30pm

3/15 from 3-6pm

3/16 from 1-4pm

At the Eclipse Grange Theater - 193 Academy Rd, Thetford, VT

 

The aging, increasingly volatile King Lear of Britain decides to cede and divide his kingdom amongst his three daughters to rule, until his youngest daughter Cordelia refuses to flatter him with empty praise and is subsequently banished. He then finds himself caught in a merciless struggle for power amongst his other two daughters and various lords. Soon, chaos takes hold—as Lear’s true allies are branded traitors, his enemies begin to surround him, and both his kingdom and his mind begin to crumble.

 

Characters:

• KING LEAR: The elderly king of Britain whose power and mental state disintegrates over the course of the play. Prone to rapid changes in emotion, switching from endearing and affable, to furious and vicious, to grief-stricken and broken. His cognitive decline forms the centerpiece of the play's action.

• GONERIL: Lear's eldest daughter. Cunning, methodical, and calculated. She is exhausted and hurt by her father's declining mental state, which manifests as bitterness and resentment.

• REGAN: Lear's middle daughter. Impulsive and vicious. Her impatience and bitterness toward her father is sharper and slightly more evident than in her older sister. 

• CORDELIA: Lear's youngest daughter. Extremely kind, loving, and good-hearted. Even after her father banishes her, she remains loyal to him and seeks to protect him from her sisters.

• EARL OF KENT: An old lord, loyal to Lear. Extremely honorable and passionately opposed against those who lack it. He adopts the disguise of "Caius" to continue serving and protecting Lear, even after Lear banishes him. 

• EARL OF GLOUCESTER: Another older lord, also loyal to Lear. Well-intentioned, but also oblivious and short-tempered. He is late to realize the extent of the plot against Lear.

• EDGAR: Gloucester's older son. Good-hearted and strong, if somewhat naive. He proves to have a darker, angrier side suppressed within him, which emerges in the form of "Poor Tom", an alias he adopts after being framed for treason.

• EDMUND: Gloucester's younger, illegitimate son. Charismatic and likeable, but secretly cunning and merciless. He is bitter about his status in the world as a "bastard" and seeks to usurp as much power as he can in the kingdom.  

• DUKE OF ALBANY: A lord, married to Goneril. Passive and yielding to his wife's will. As the play goes on, he becomes more aware and resistant to his wife's actions and ultimately finds the willpower to defy her.

• DUKE OF CORNWALL: A lord, married to Regan. Pompous and self-aggrandizing. His sense of self-importance and authority is at first comical, but gradually becomes much more frightening and menacing as he amasses more power, culminating in his gouging out of Gloucester's eyes. 

• THE FOOL: The court jester attending on King Lear. Many of his jokes are thinly-veiled criticisms of Lear himself.

• OSWALD: The steward of Goneril and Albany's household. Cowardly, tactless and lacking honor. He has no qualms with doing whatever Goneril asks of him, no matter how underhanded or cruel. 

• GENTLEMAN: A nobleman who remains loyal to Lear all the way to the end. He corresponds between Kent and Cordelia throughout the play. 

• KING OF FRANCE*: Suitor and eventual husband of Cordelia.

• CURAN*: A courtier who corresponds with Edmund.

• DOCTOR*: A doctor in the French army.

• MESSENGER*: A messenger of the French army.

• CAPTAIN*: A chief soldier in Edmund's army, later carries out Cordelia's execution offstage.

• 2 SERVANTS*: Two servants attending on the Duke of Cornwall, one of whom is killed by him while defending Gloucester.

• 2 KNIGHTS*: Two rowdy knights as part of Lear's intial "100 knights". 

• 2 SOLDIERS* (nonspeaking): Two soldiers loyal to Cordelia who help rescue King Lear.

 

*These roles are part of the “ensemble”, and may be double or triple-cast with other ensemble roles. They will also feature as part of larger, group movement sequences.

 

Audition details:

Auditions will consist of actors taking turns reading selected monologues and scenes from King Lear. The monologues we will be reading are featured here for those who would like to be familiar with them before auditions (you will not be asked to memorize them!). The scene sides will be available at auditions as cold reads.

 

Please fill out the audition form ahead of time: https://forms.gle/7TDmQYn83oNiiEdA9

 

Monologues:

• KENT (Act 1 Scene 1) - For those interested in Kent, Cordelia, Gloucester, Albany, Gentleman

• EDMUND (Act 1 Scene 2) - For those interested in Edmund, Cornwall, Oswald

• GONERIL (Act 1 Scene 3) - For those interested in Goneril, Regan

• KING LEAR (Act 1 Scene 4) - For those interested in King Lear

• EDGAR (Act 2 Scene 3) - For those interested in Edgar

• FOOL (Act 2 Scene 4) - For those interested in The Fool