King Lear in the Forest – review and giveaway.

Last night we had the excellent good fortune to attend the press evening of Red Rose Chain’s new Shakespeare production King Lear at Theatre in the Forest. We’ve seen them before at Rendlesham, doing Midsummer Night’s Dream. It’s a play I love and I figured it was one of the best introductions to Shakespeare I could give the kids, and I wasn’t wrong.

This year’s play, King Lear isn’t one I know, and I was nervous as to how it would go down with children. Dp stayed at home with Smallest, I thought it would be a bit much for her, meaning it was just me, the big two and of course, Tigerboy. We went prepared 😉

Pushchair (shock horror, babywearing mother uses pushchair!) just in case, a sling, obviously, a couple of camping chairs, and a picnic rug. Oh, and warm jumpers, coats, a couple of blankets and a picnic. And a mounting sense of excitement as we drove…

Arriving in the forest we joined a small queue into the carpark. There’s a £3 parking charge (separate to the ticket price) that goes to the forestry commission and you can buy your program at the gate as well. Then we met our first cast member, fully costumed up, checking tickets at the gate, shocked when I said I didn’t have any, I was on the list.

Cue some banter between her and another cast member nearby. It’s one of the things that really sets this company apart I think, that the cast are out and about in character from the moment you arrive. It adds to the experience when your tickets (or not tickets) are checked by the Duke of Cornwall! Anyway, we were found on the ‘vip’ list, handed guest badges and pointed at the reception. Which was very nice with lovely canapes, fruit juices and some bubbly – rather wished one of the children was old enough to drive us home at that point! Oh, and there was a nice goody bag too, with Paddy and Scott’s coffee, Adnam’s Solestar, East Anglian and a glow stick. Excellent.

Distractions like canapes meant that all the places for camping chairs at the front were taken when we went in but there was still room to put the picnic rug down, so we did just that and lifted the buggy in next to us with some help from a volunteer. Then we settled down to eat and wait and watch.

The weather was very kind to us. It can be cold in the forest but I found that I was perfectly comfortable in my coat, and Tigerboy slept for over an hour in the buggy with Snugglebundl and blanket wrapped around him. The play was astounding. It’s amazing that so few people, with next to no props or scenery could transport us in the way they did, and make a tragedy both funny and approachable for families. But they did. Part of it is the energy of the performance – facial expressions that draw the children in. Very little of the delivery was done straight, as it were, with the notable exception of a leather clad Edmund providing evil relief. My concern levels about approaching gruesomeness were heightened when he sliced his arm in the first act and blood gushed convincingly out.

I needn’t have worried. Although much of the play was done for laughs (I’m sure Shakespeare didn’t include rapping in his original version) the serious bits were done seriously as it were, but not overdone or dwelt on. Madness and dialogues with the fool (played by a ventriloquist doll) were touching rather than morose and the effects that heralded eye removal (trying to enlighten a little without spoilers here) were effective without gore. There is a death at swordpoint and a little more blood towards the end, but certainly nothing that caused any issue for my 9 year old, though he is well versed in the art of special effects.

Yes, you read that right. This is a tragedy played in part for laughs but without detracting from the original weightiness of the play. The energy, the costumes, the interactions, lighten the mood and make it family friendly – the expertise, activity and overall ensemble make it fabulous for the older Shakespeare fan. Truly a production with something for all the family, though I was a little surprised when Tigerboy sat on my lap and watched the last 40 minutes or so after feeding. (He was so well behaved throughout our neighbours thought the buggy was empty and were surprised when I picked him up!)

Other hints and tips – if rain is forecast go prepared. As I understand it, ponchos are handed out at that point, but I’d rather have a coat. I don’t think I’d want to be sitting on a picnic rug then either. There are banks of chairs provided but they are further back. If you sit near the front you really do get drawn in – not least when the actors leap from the stage and run around the audience as happened quite a lot. The King walked right across our rug! And if it’s a dry night, you might want to give some thought to insect protection. Big got quite severely munched 🙁

Anyway, on to the giveaway. Red Rose Chain have been good enough to offer a family ticket (that’s two adults and two children) for me to give away on the blog. The play runs right up til the 26th of August so I’m opening my giveaway now until midnight BST Fri 3rd August, meaning there will still be plenty of dates to choose from. The winner will be announced on Sat 4th and I’ll put them in touch with my contact at Red Rose Chain so that you can sort out the dates/ tickets between you as suits you best. You enter by leaving me a comment telling me your favourite Shakespeare character and who you’d love to see playing them. Can be actor from theatre, film or TV 🙂

Further entries for sharing on the various social networks (twitter, facebook, g+, anywhere else you can think of and link to) or your own blog, but please leave separate comments with a link for each entry. I’ll use a random draw plugin to select a winner by comment. As previously stated, you must be happy for your details to be passed to the company, and you must be able to get yourself and party to Rendlesham before 26th August 2012 – travel is most definitely not included.

If you’d like to know what the children thought of the performance, you can read Big and Small‘s reviews on their own blogs.