Directors notes

King Lear’s daughters, Goneril, Regan and Cordelia have always held a fascination for me. In 1605/1606 when the play was written these roles would have been performed by the young boy actors before their voices had broken. Whether they would have been able to portray the complexities of particularly Goneril and Regan we will never know. Cordelia would have been easier as nearer to them in age.
The three sisters captured my imagination, as being one of three siblings, I always thought how destructive for a parent to ask who loves them the most. I wondered what the sisters really felt, as although they voice some of their feelings, mostly they are caught up in the ensuing consequences and war manipulating, and being manipulated by their father, husbands and lover.  In reimagining their stories I wanted to focus on the sisters themselves, put them centre stage and give them each more of a voice. Portraying Lear as the matriarch of the family has enabled us to explore the complexities, relationships and power shifts, where the women are thrust together in a simmering house of old jealousies. Setting the play after the wars at a time when women took on jobs and roles, which had been traditionally male, enabled the creation of four strong women characters. In our interpretation Lear runs her estate after the death of her husband, Goneril is her step daughter who puts in her lot with a sister who ultimately betrays her. Regan is an opportunist, manipulative schemer hoping to take control of the estate and usurp her mother. By combining Cordelia with the fool I enabled the creation of a more complex character who holds a mirror up to Lear and her downfall; she never leaves her side and tells only the truth that she is not ready to hear.
All the lines in our version are in the original play, however we have taken poetic licence to use many of them in a different context. I hope had Shakespeare a sister she would have approved!

Tess Garrett May 2018

Performed by

Lear – Amanda Sansom-Rose

Goneril – Liz Stapleton

Regan – Jess Easterbrook

Cordelia – Kicki Ringqvist

Words by Shakespeare

Adaptation created and re-configured by the whole company

Director: Tess Garrett

Programme and poster design : Jonah Garrett-Bannister

Incidental Music : Mario Keeffe

Lear’s chair lent by: Laura Macdonald
Foh Friday: Nicky Pyper