King Lear :: Education Pack

EDUCATION PACK

WRITTEN BY JONATHAN PRICE (ATC TEACHING ARTIST) AND ANNA RICHARDSON

13 JUN – 9 JUL 2023

ABOUT THE PLAY

When power and privilege are put to the test. Having built an empire, the ageing King Lear is poised to abdicate his crown. When he challenges his three daughters to compete for his land, his favourite refuses to play the game. Civilisation is thrust into chaos and Lear, broken by his own vanity, will be forced to confront who he is for the very first time.

Programme Photographer: Abhi Chinniah

CAST

Fasitua Amosa — Duke of Albany

Adam Burrell — Oswald

Uhyoung Choi 최우영 —

Duke of Burgundy/Curan

Andi Crown — Goneril

Joe Dekkers-Reihana — Edgar

Michael Hurst — King Lear

Jessie Lawrence — Regan

Colin McColl —

King of France/Old Man/Medic

Shadon Meredith — Duke of Cornwall

Cameron Rhodes — Earl of Gloucester

Beatriz Romilly — Edmund

Hanah Tayeb — Cordelia

Hester Ullyart — The Fool

Jennifer Ward-Lealand —

Duchess of Kent

UNDERSTUDIES

James Maeva

Munashe Tapfuya

Daniel Watterson

ENSEMBLE

Kais Azimullah, Ella Blake Brislen, Jess Fajardo, Sahil Goyal, Connor Magatogia, Alex Myers, Abby Ozanne, Vikram Rajan, James Sexton, Sebastian Taylor, Te Ohorere Williams

CREATIVE

Playwright — Willliam Shakespeare

Directors — Michael Hurst & Benjamin

Kilby-Henson

Set Designer — John Verryt

Lighting Designer — Vanda Karolczak

Costume Designer — Elizabeth Whiting

Composer & Sound Designer —

John Gibson

Voice Coach — Kirstie O’Sullivan

PRODUCTION

Production Managers — Khalid Parkar & Annah Jacobs, Pilot Productions

Stage Manager — Boo Pantoja-Frost

Deputy Stage Manager —

Eliza Josephson-Rutter

Assistant Stage Manager — Sofia Miernik

Sound System Designer — Andrew Furness

Audio Mix Engineer — Brooke Paterson

Fly Technician & Mechanist — T.J. Haunui

Whakatōhea, Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Rangitihi

Technical Operators — Peter Davison & Aaron Mitchell

Props Manager — Nati Pereira

Set and Props Intern — Jasmine Wilde

Intimacy Coordinator — Megan Adams

Fight Choreographer — Dayna Grant, New Zealand Stunt School

Set Build Manager — Andrew Gibson

Set Construction — Tāwhiri Workshop

King Lear ’s first known performance was on 26 December 1606. This is the first production of King Lear by Auckland Theatre Company and it’s the third production in the Company’s 2023 season. It began previews on 13 June and premiered on 15 June at ASB Waterfront Theatre, Auckland. The production is 2 hours, 45 minutes including interval. Contains depictions of violence, stage blood and weapons, smoke/haze, strobe lighting, and themes of suicide.

Please remember to switch off all mobile phones and noise-emitting devices.

Workshop Manager: Paul O’Brien; Project Leads: Alasdair Watson & Allan Rockell; Senior Carpenters: Duncan Perratt, Geoff Goss & Alejandro Ariza Hernandez; Junior Carpenter: Giovanni Maule

Rain Effect — Grant Reynolds

Teaching Artists — Jonathan Price & Taylor Rogers Te Aupōuri, Ngāi Takoto, Ngāti Kuri, Ngāti Kahu, Te Rarawa

Wardrobe Assistants — Amelia Carter, Zara Hawthorne, Roma Langkilde & Anna Thomson, Whitecliffe

Wardrobe Assistants Coordinator — Ann Horner

Video Editor — Owen McCarthy

Photographer — Jinki Cambronero

Publicity — Bridget de Launay, de Launay Enterprises

Note from Michael Hurst

Russian author Leo Tolstoy famously rejected King Lear, calling it a very bad, carelessly composed production, far from being perfect and evoking among readers nothing but repulsion, weariness and bewilderment. I don’t think he can have ever seen it.

To my mind, the play is something of a miracle. It operates on a searingly domestic level yet possesses a truly epic scope. It reminds us that, finally, it all comes down to us, human beings, dealing with life, dealing with death and dealing with one another.

Shakespeare’s mirror, showing us “the very age and body of the time” is never so active as it is in this play, where the truth-speakers are sidelined, madmen lead the blind, people refuse to see what is right in front of them, and ruthless manipulators scheme and torture to achieve their desires. Sound familiar? Yet, despite the tragedy and the heartbreak, the human spirit soars and, miraculously, by the time we are wound into the final scene, we feel relieved, hopeful and at peace with the quiet truth that “we are all in this together”.

Directing and playing Lear is quite the task: impossible without my colleague and friend Benjamin KilbyHenson as Co-Director, to whom I am deeply grateful. We have been amazed at how elastic the script is, how powerful and how relevant. We have a fabulous cast and creative team, and the process, though exacting at times, has been a real delight. We have the privilege to be exploring one of the greatest works of literature ever, and “you can’t say fairer than that”!

I leave you with a quote from Yeats. To me, these lines describe perfectly both the world of King Lear and the world we face now. Both the poem and the play are prescient, and, if we are to preserve our humanity and the better spirits of our nature, we should heed the warning, shouldn’t we? We should bear the weight and speak what we feel, not what we ought to say.

Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere

The ceremony of innocence is drowned; The best lack all conviction, while the worst Are full of passionate intensity.

– The Second Coming by W.B. Yeats, 1919

Directors Michael Hurst and Benjamin Kilby-Henson.

Synopsis

Though it is often considered Shakespeare’s greatest and most complex work, King Lear begins simply enough, like a fairytale. An aging king wishes to unburden himself from the responsibilities of rulership and pass his lands down to his three daughters.

He promises to give the largest portion to the daughter who loves him most. The eldest two daughters, Goneril and Regan, attempt to outdo each other with lofty speeches but the youngest daughter, Cordelia, refuses to speak. Her silence sends Lear into a rage and he banishes Cordelia along with Kent, a loyal advisor who speaks out against the king’s actions. Cordelia flees with the King of France, who loves her despite being stripped of her wealth.

But that’s where the fairytale ends. Lear’s remaining daughters bar him from their homes, objecting to hosting his knights. Betrayed, Lear wanders the heath in a storm, accompanied by Kent (who has returned in disguise to aid his king) and his Fool.

Meanwhile, in a subplot which echoes and intensifies the events of the main one, the Earl of Gloucester is tricked by his bastard daughter, Edmund, into thinking that his legitimate son, Edgar, is trying to kill him. Edgar flees to avoid death and disguises himself as a mad beggar called Poor Tom. He too ends up wondering the heath, eventually joining Lear and the Fool.

Gloucester, still loyal to Lear, receives news that Cordelia is en route with the French army to help the king. But Edmund betrays his father to Regan and her husband, Cornwall, who torture Gloucester and blind him.

Cordelia and the French army save Lear, but the army is defeated. Cordelia and Lear are reunited in prison. The siblings, Edgar and Edmund, face-off in a trial by combat which Edgar wins. Dying, Edmund confesses that she has ordered the deaths of Cordelia and Lear. Before they can be rescued, Lear brings in Cordelia’s body and then he himself dies of a broken heart.

Historical and Literary Context

“Nothing will come from nothing”:

Whether or not King Lear is Shakespeare’s greatest work has been argued back and forth by critics. One thing is for sure: Lear is his most intense. Even by modern standards, its unrelenting depiction of extreme suffering and cruelty can be intolerably bleak. This was certainly the perception for around 200 years of the play’s production history, where the preferred version was not Shakespeare’s Lear at all but an adaptation written by Nahum Tate in which Cordelia and Lear survive and Cordelia marries Edgar. So what could have spurred Shakespeare to write such a dark play?

THE WRITER

Shakespeare wrote King Lear sometime between 1605–6, around the same time he composed the other great tragedies, Hamlet, Othello & Macbeth. Heavily involved in all aspects of the theatre, he had recently helped build a successful open-air stage on London’s South Bank called The Globe. Critics had compared him to famous ancient Roman writers, and King James I thought highly enough of Shakespeare’s company to lend them his name. In short, William Shakespeare, playwright and shareholder of The King’s Men, was well regarded and more or less mainstream as far as earlymodern theatre goes. If he were alive today, it’s not a stretch to imagine Shakespeare as show-runner for a popular HBO television series.

SOURCE

In undertaking Lear, Shakespeare’s primary source was likely Raphael Holished’s account of a semilegendary King of the Britons called Leir whose reign would have been around the 8th century BC. It is cultural habit to think of Shakespeare as a lone genius and it pays to be reminded that he often adapted his plots from existing stories or chronicles of historical events. The main points of the Leir story remain intact in Shakespeare’s adaptation, though the subplot is entirely the playwright’s innovation.

PRIMOGENITURE

Shakespeare may also have taken inspiration from a couple of local court cases which centred around primogeniture, the custom of passing property on to the eldest child. In one case, a nobleman’s eldest daughter tried to have him declared insane so that she could take over his property. In another, a nobleman divided his property amongst his daughters planning to stay with each in turn but was ultimately abused by them. Furthermore, the law of primogeniture and the issue of succession more generally would have been at the forefront of the public consciousness in England at the time Shakespeare composed Lear. Throughout her reign, Queen Elizabeth I had had no children and refused to name an heir. The possibility of a prolonged dispute — and even war — over the succession of the crown created anxiety amongst the ruling classes.

When King James I became King of England, Scotland and Ireland in 1603 it put an end to the angst over succession but replaced it with a new challenge: how to maintain authority and create unity across three different realms. These concerns find expression in King Lear in the King’s choice to slice up the realm, followed by a descent into chaos as his daughters (and their husbands) abuse their power.

LEGACY AND RELEVANCE

Given it owes its plot to the quirky customs of a historical England, how does the uncompromisingly dark Lear still resonate with audiences? It is no accident that the 20th century, with its unprecedented destruction of human life, saw King Lear return with force to stages across the world.

King Lear stands as the archetypal work to hold a mirror up to a world that has lost its sense of unity and teeters on the precipice of a decent into chaos. As circumstances drive the protagonists towards madness, we are asked if madness is really the only sensible response to an uncaring world. This massive and confronting question is like the black hole at the centre of King Lear, around which other ideas orbit.

Portrait of William Shakespeare, chromolithography Hombres y Mujeres Célebres 1877, Barcelona, Spain

Playwright

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare (1564–1616) was an English playwright and poet, widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the English language. Born in Stratford-uponAvon, he gained recognition for his plays during the late-16th and late17th centuries.

Shakespeare’s works, consisting of approximately 39 plays, 154 sonnets and several narrative poems, span various genres, including tragedy, comedy and history, and have had a profound and enduring impact on literature, theatre and culture. Some of his most celebrated plays include Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Macbeth, Othello and King Lear. His exploration of universal themes such as love, jealousy, ambition and human nature continue to resonate with audiences today and offer profound insights into the human experience.

Shakespeare's language, characterised by its poetic beauty, intricate wordplay and profound psychological depth, has inspired and influenced artists worldwide. His plays are performed and studied extensively, in both traditional productions and innovative adaptations, showcasing the enduring power of his storytelling. This year is the 400th anniversary of the publication of the First Folio, Mr. William Shakespeare’s Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies. Of the 700odd printed, only 235 are known to survive today. One is located in the Special Collections at Auckland Libraries; it was a gift to the people of Auckland by Sir George Grey in 1894. The First Folio contains 36 of Shakespeare’s plays, including King Lear, some being published for the first time.

Creative approaches to Lear

WOMEN

Co-director and lead actor

Michael Hurst is curious about the lack of mothers in the play. Would the presence of women with authority have changed the course of events? The directors’ casting choices have amplified this idea, re-casting the traditionally male roles of Kent, Edmund and The Fool with female actors.

POWER

The directors, Ben Henson and Michael Hurst, are also interested in the flow-on effects of powerful people making selfish decisions. There are moments in this production where we glimpse a world beyond the main characters which is dealing with the consequences of their decisions. When the characters closest to Lear try to tell the truth, he sends them away.

MADNESS & SUBJECTIVE REALITIES

At its most domestic, Lear is an unflinching portrait of old age and mental ill-health. Both Elizabeth Whiting (costume) and Vanda Karolczack (lighting) were drawn in part to Lear’s madness, and the effect this has on his perceptions of the world. They wondered if it would be possible to create a stage space in which the lines between objective and subjective reality are blurred, and Lear’s madness begins to “bleed” into the stage picture.

NOTHINGNESS AND THE LIMITS OF LANGUAGE

Perhaps uniquely among Shakespeare’s plays, Lear does not so much flaunt the spoken word as reveal its limitations. Increasingly, the characters fail to express themselves coherently, descending into gibberish or, in the case of the final scene, sounds that reveal our animal nature: “Howl, howl, howl, howl …” Sound designer John Gibson compliments this breakdown of language with a-tonal compositions that emphasises the silence — nothingness — between sounds as much as the sounds themselves.

What is the sound of the sound of nothing?

Turns out there is a whole science of music devoted to this; the Japanese concept of MA, the sound between the notes. To make these sounds, I turned to my friends at the Audio Foundation, home of extraordinary musicians and invented instruments. Recorded at the Audio Foundation, the music you hear in King Lear was composed from improvisations by these musicians.

– John Gibson, Composer & Sound Designer

EARLY-MODERN STAGING PRACTICES

Finally, the influence of Elizabethan theatres can be felt in John Verryt’s (set design) suggestion to stage King Lear in traverse. In this arrangement, the actors are not separated by a proscenium but instead share space with the audience. Eye contact can be made with the actors and also the audience on the other side of the stage. The resulting effect is one of inclusivity; of private events being made public. The audience are not just witnesses, but participants in the events of the play.

KING OF FRANCE

EARL OF GLOUCESTER

EARL OF GLOUCESTER

THE FOOL nobleman

THE FOOL nobleman

son illegitimate daughter

son illegitimate daughter

KING LEAR

KING LEAR

noblewoman

noblewoman

EDGAR

EDGAR

(also: Poor Tom)

(also: Poor Tom)

EDMUND

EDMUND

lovers daughters

lovers daughters

lovers

lovers

DUCHESS OF KENT

DUCHESS OF KENT

(also: Caius)

(also: Caius)

husband husband

husband husband

DUKE OF ALBANY

DUKE OF ALBANY

servant

servant

GONERIL oldest daughter

GONERIL oldest daughter

REGAN middle daughter

REGAN middle daughter

DUKE OF CORNWALL

DUKE OF CORNWALL

marries

marries

CORDELIA youngest daughter

suitor OSWALD

suitor OSWALD

KING OF FRANCE

CORDELIA youngest daughter

DUKE OF BURGUNDY

DUKE OF BURGUNDY

KING OF FRANCE

Meet the Characters

KING LEAR

JOHN VERRYT Set Designer

The ageing king who divides his kingdom among his three daughters based on their professions of love for him. Lear is proud, impulsive and easily influenced. He undergoes a tragic journey of self-discovery and a descent into madness as he faces the consequences of his actions.

THE FOOL

VANDA KAROLCZAK Lighting Designer

Lear’s court jester, who serves as a voice of reason and truth throughout the play. The Fool uses humour and wit to crititicise Lear’s actions and provide insights into the unfolding events. Despite her humorous demeanour, the Fool often speaks profound truths.

ELIZABETH WHITING Costume Designer

“Who is it who can tell me who I am?”

GONERIL

Lear’s eldest daughter, married to the Duke of Albany. Initially, she professes her love for her father to gain her share of the kingdom but, later, reveals her true nature as cunning and manipulative. She soon turns against Lear, contributing to his downfall, alongside her trusted servant, Oswald.

“Sir, I love you more than words can wield the matter."

Originally from Montreal, Vanda Karolczak has been living and working in Aotearoa since 1999. Her lighting design work for theatre, dance, television, fashion and music in North America, the UK and New Zealand spans more than 30 years. In the UK and Canada, she toured with acts such as Robert Plant, Erasure and Alexandre O’Neill, and spent five years touring with Les Grands Ballets Canadiens.

“Dost thou know the difference between a bitter fool and a sweet one?”

EARL OF GLOUCESTER

Elizabeth Whiting has designed costumes for Auckland Theatre Company, Silo Theatre, Nightsong, New Zealand Opera, Indian Ink, The Court Theatre, Red Leap Theatre, The New Zealand Dance Company, Ōkāreka Dance Company, Douglas Wright Dance Company and many others.

A nobleman and a loyal supporter of Lear. Gloucester’s story runs parallel to Lear’s, as he too experiences a downfall caused by the machinations of his illegitimate daughter, Edmund.

“But I have a son, madam, by order of law.”

EDMUND

REGAN

John Verryt began designing for performance in 1979, training at Theatre Corporate and Mercury Theatre. John works regularly as a freelancer for many of New Zealand’s foremost performing arts companies, including Auckland Theatre Company, Silo Theatre, Indian Ink, Red Leap Theatre, The Large Group, Nightsong, New Zealand Opera, Douglas Wright Dance Company, Michael Parmenter and Malia Johnston, and Atamira, Ōkāreka and Black Grace Dance Companies.

Lear’s middle daughter, married to the Duke of Cornwall. Like her sister Goneril, Regan initially flatters Lear to secure her inheritance but reveals her ruthless and cruel nature as the play progresses. She becomes Goneril’s ally in opposing Lear and contributes to his suffering.

Recent Auckland Theatre Company shows designed by John include: Long Day’s Journey into Night, Once on Chunuk Bair, Jesus Christ Superstar, Rupert, The Navigators, Rendered, Astroman and The Haka Party Incident.

“O, sir, you are old. You should be ruled and led by some discretion, that discerns your state better than you yourself.”

CORDELIA

Lear’s youngest and favourite daughter. Unlike her sisters, Cordelia refuses to flatter her father with insincere declarations of love. This honesty leads to her disinheritance and banishment from the kingdom. Cordelia embodies loyalty, virtue and integrity.

Since coming to New Zealand, Vanda has been involved in the Indigenous contemporary dance space, working with established companies such as Ōkāreka Dance Company and Atamira Dance. Her designs for dance include Mana Wahine (Okareka Dance Company), Te Manawa, Wired and Hōkioi me te Vwōhali. Her work for Atamira includes the award-winning Ngai Tahu 32, Taonga, Onepū, Memoirs of Active Service, Tomo, Mitimiti, Te Houhi and Ngā Wai, which premiered in 2020. Vanda also works in Biosecurity Compliance and is a long-serving member of the Piha Surf Life Saving Club.

“So young, my lord, and true.”

Gloucester’s illegitimate daughter. Edmund resents her status as a bastard and schemes to gain power and legitimacy. She is cunning and manipulative and fuels the conflict between her father and her brother, Edgar. A formidable character, she succeeds in almost all of her schemes, wreaking destruction upon virtually all of the other characters.

“Let me, if not by birth, have lands by wit.”

Elizabeth was responsible for the central performance design for the World of WearableArt for six years. Her work has been presented at Edinburgh Festival and the Prague Quadrennial of Performance Design and Space. She won the Chapman Tripp Theatre Award for Costume Design for The Arrival (Red Leap Theatre). Her opera designs have been well reviewed in Australia and the United States.

EDGAR

Gloucester’s legitimate son and the play’s main source of moral integrity. Falsely accused by his sister, Edmund, Edgar goes into hiding and disguises himself as ‘Poor Tom’, a mad beggar, to survive. Edgar ultimately seeks to restore order and justice in the kingdom.

“Some villain hath done me wrong.”

Most recently, she has designed costumes for: Long Day’s Journey into Night and The Life of Galileo for Auckland Theatre Company; A Stab in the Dark for Nightsong; The Most Naked for projectMUSE, The Hall for Bullet Heart Club, Paradise or the Impermanence of Ice Cream for Indian Ink; and Don Pasquale for New Zealand Opera.

DUKE OF ALBANY

The Duke of Albany is married to Goneril, Lear’s eldest daughter. Initially, the Duke of Albany is obedient to his wife’s desires, aligning himself with her ruthless pursuit of power. However, as the play progresses, he begins to question her actions and becomes a voice of opposition against her cruelty.

“The weight of this sad time we must obey; Speak what we feel, not what we ought to say.”

DUKE OF CORNWALL

The Duke of Cornwall is the husband of Regan, Lear’s middle daughter. He aligns himself with his wife and supports her in her pursuit of power. Together, they conspire against Lear and contribute to his downfall. He is a ruthless and power-hungry character, driven by ambition and a desire for control.

“Shut up your doors, my lord; ’tis a wild night: My Regan counsels well; come out o’ the storm.”

KING OF FRANCE

The King of France is a noble and honourable character who is engaged to Cordelia, the youngest daughter of Lear. When Cordelia is disowned and banished by Lear, the King of France stands by her side and maintains his commitment to marrying her, despite her diminished social status.

“Fairest Cordelia, that art most rich, being poor; Most choice, forsaken; and most loved, despised!”

DUKE OF BURGUNDY

The Duke of Burgundy is a suitor of Cordelia, Lear’s youngest daughter. He initially expresses his desire to marry Cordelia and gain her dowry, which was part of Lear’s plan to divide his kingdom among his daughters. However, when Cordelia is disowned by Lear, the Duke of Burgundy withdraws his proposal.

“I crave no more than what your highness offered, Nor will you tender less.”

DUCHESS OF KENT

A noblewoman and one of Lear’s most loyal followers. The Duchess of Kent remains faithful to Lear even after being banished for defending Cordelia. She disguises herself as ‘Caius’ to continue serving Lear and plays a crucial role in protecting the king.

“Royal Lear! Whom I have ever honoured as my king, As my master followed, As my great patron thought of in.”

OSWALD

Oswald is a servant in the household of Goneril, Lear’s eldest daughter. He is conniving, opportunistic and aligns himself with Goneril and Regan to further his own interests. Throughout the play, Oswald clashes with the Duchess of Kent, who sees through his deceit and recognises his lack of integrity.

Oswald represents the cunning and treacherous individuals who thrive in a morally chaotic world.

“Why dost thou use me thus? I know thee not.”

EDGAR

(also:

EDMUND

KING LEAR

DUCHESS

(also:

husband husband

GONERIL oldest daughter

CORDELIA youngest daughter

REGAN middle daughter

DUKE OF CORNWALL

DUKE OF ALBANY

KING OF FRANCE

marries

DUKE OF BURGUNDY

suitor OSWALD

servant

Poor Tom)

son illegitimate daughter lovers daughters

OF KENT

Caius) lovers

noblewoman

EARL OF GLOUCESTER

THE FOOL nobleman

Exploring the Director's Concept

When you are revising for your live performance exam, you will want to unpack what you think the Directors; Michael Hurst and Benjamin Kilby-Henson, intended to be communicated through their choices. These activities will help you brainstorm and collate your ideas, as well as providing evidence or quotes to support your explanations and discussions around the exam questions.

WHY KING LEAR?

Using the Director's note from the programme, complete the following activity:

• Read the Director's note and synopsis.

• Circle or highlight ideas that interest you or provide insight.

• Get into pairs or small groups and share what you have circled or highlighted and explain why. Make notes or a brainstorm to record your ideas.

• Choose a scene where you think one of the ideas you have circled or highlighted connects to. As a group brainstorm how you might talk about the scene, describing what was physically happening on stage and how you could connect in your quote or idea. You could present this to the rest of the class as a: (make sure you save a copy of whatever form you complete this task in)

• Fleshed out brainstorm

• A verbal presentation with written prompts

• A written response

• Acting out a scene and explaining what you are doing.

CREATIVE APPROACHES TO KING LEAR

Using “The Creative Approaches to Lear” page, explore the ideas that Hurst and Kilby-Henson have picked up or are interested in throughout the process of bringing the show to the stage. You could use the following activities to help you unpack these ideas and connect them to the answers your will eventually write in your exam.

BRAINSTORM:

Divide the class into five groups and unpack each of the statements made. Once you have written everything you can about your statement, rotate around all the groups adding further information or ideas. You could use the following prompts to guide your thinking:

• Where did you see this idea presented in the play? A specific scene, character or design choice. Describe in detail.

• What is interesting about this idea? How does it link to what is going on in the world today? Describe in detail

• Quotes or scenes from the play that support or exemplify this idea.

PRACTICAL ACTIVITIES:

• Use the ideas from “Creative Approaches” and what you have unpacked in your brainstorm as a prompt to devise or improvise a scene.

• Find a scene from King Lear (you can access all of William Shakespeare’s plays online) and stage it in class. Focus on using the ideas from your brainstorm as the subtext or in the decisions you make in rehearsals.

• Sketch the set and annotate how technology was used in a moment where one of the ideas is highlighted by the directorial and design choices.

• Complete a Role on the Wall for one of the characters in the performance, flesh out their inner and outer lives with an idea from “Creative Approaches” in mind. Think about who has been cast in the role and why Hurst and Kilby-Henson might have chosen them. You could extend this activity by Hot Seating each other.

• Write a short essay on how Hurst and Kilby-Henson presented the ideas in “Creative Approaches” in a specific moment in the performance. Discuss the choices you think they have made, what was physically happening and use quoted evidence from the Education Pack to support your answer.

• You might choose to do this practically as a presentation, podcast (using voice notes on your phone) or a performance based discussion.

Exploring the Designers Concept

When you are revising for your live performance exam, you will want to unpack what you think the Designers; set, lighting, sound, costume, props, make-up, and special effects, intended to be communicated through their choices. These activities will help you brainstorm and collate your ideas, as well as providing evidence or quotes to support your explanations and discussions around the exam questions.

THE COLOUR PALETTE

A very distinct colour palette has been chosen for this contemporary performance of King Lear. The set, the costumes and the lighting feed into a distinct stylistic intention that supports the themes, ideas and symbols within King Lear. Use the following activity to unpack your ideas and observations.

ACTIVITY:

Draw a big circle, with a smaller circle on the inside. Create a colour wheel of all the colours you observed onstage, shading them into the circle. Then using arrows from each block of colour, group the characters that you observed wearing those colours. Further annotate your diagramme, thinking about each group of characters, what do they have in common? Is there a theme, motif or symbol that connects them? You could add in notes about how they connect to the colours of the set or the lighting palette used on each character. Share your diagramme with a peer or group and continue to add to it. By the end of this activity your original colour wheel should be surrounded by a web of annotation, where you will be able to identify themes, observations and ideas, which you will be able to include in your exam answers.

THE IMPACT OF SOUND

Sound throughout the performance was directly connected to the dialogue, the characters emotional motivations and what is happening thematically. It provides punctuation points for important moments, creates mood and atmosphere and builds tension. Use the following activity to unpack your thoughts, ideas and observations around the sound design of King Lear.

ACTIVITY:

As a class, roll some large craft paper along the floor OR use a whiteboard. Draw a line horizontally from one end of the page or board to the other. Below the line plot the main action beats of the play. Above the line annotate when sound played an important role. Describe the sound in detail, evoke what type of sounds you heard. Add notes about whether it foreshadowed something, built tension, mood or atmosphere or whether it was connected to a character. Add in quotes where you can. Once you have finished your sound timeline take a photo and make sure you save this for revision purposes.

THE STAGE AND ELIZABETHAN THEATRE

ATC’s performance of King Lear uses a traverse style stage, with three entrances/exits at one end and mirror-like tiles at the opposite end. Use the following activity to think about the similarities between The Globe and ATC’s stage design.

Activity:

Split into small groups. Find images of The Globe Theatre in London, birds eye and front facing. If you have been provided with images of the set by ATC ensure you have some printed out, otherwise, sketch the stage. With the images side by side identify where ATC have drawn inspiration from an Elizabethan style theatre, where it feels completely different and brainstorm what you think the stylistic intentions of the design were. Share the ideas that your group came up with, with the rest of the class, adding to your brainstorm.

SKETCHING AND ANNOTATION

Sketching and annotation are an important part of your exam responses, often they can add information or allow you to expand on your ideas in your written answers. Use the following prompts to create a bank of detailed sketches and annotations:

Prompts:

• A moment where the set was used by the actors to create impact. What other technologies were at play?

• A moment where technology was used to create mood or atmosphere.

• A moment where a character was isolated. How did the use of technology impact this moment?

• A moment where use of technology revealed new information.

• A moment where the ensemble was on stage. What impact did the technology have on the tension of the scene.

Exploring Acting Choices

The following two activities will help you build a picture of the characters in the performance, experiment with them in a new situation and contribute to your kētē of knowledge for your live performance exam.

Revision activity:

Using the family tree provided in the education pack, create an acting profile for each of the characters, using the following template:

Character description: name, age, type of person that they are

Costume and makeup: colour, material, what this says about their personality, how it impacted posture and movement

Relationships: who they are connected too and why

Motivations: what motivates their character and where do you think these motivations are coming from?

Actors use of body, voice, movement and space: think about what feels new, fresh and also classic about the actors choices.

Subtext: think about specific moments where a character was communicating through subtext.

Fatal flaw: a trait that will mean the character will meet a fatal end by the play's conclusion.

Favourite quote:

Practical activity:

Choose characters from your character profiles or who inspired you in the performance. In a group take the characters and expand their storylines. Devise or improvise a short scene that didn’t happen in the play but could add more information to that character's storyline. You could include some of the following drama conventions or elizabethan features in your scene:

• Soliloquy

• Asides

• Chorus

• Soundscape

• Frozen image

• Any features you have been exploring if you have been learning about Elizabethan Theatre.

Elizabethan Theatre Form

When we go to live theatre we can often see features of theatre forms in the way the play is scripted, staged, directed or performed. This play draws directly from an historically established theatre form; Elizabethan Theatre.

Contemporary performances of Shakespeare’s work will always give a nod to the features of the form in the way they are staged, the design elements, directorial and acting choices. Teasing out the features of the form that are overtly or subtly used in the performance can help you understand the play in a deeper way, as well as inspiring your own work in the classroom. Your kaiako will be able to support a deeper understanding of Elizabethan Theatre, but this series of activities will help you identify some of the features that were used in the performance. This list is not complete and you will be able to identify more.

IDENTIFYING FEATURES:

BALANCING THE STAGE

On the Globe Theatre Stage actors and directors will use an activity called ‘Balancing the Plate’ to ensure that the stage feels balanced in terms of the space between actors and aesthetically for the audience. This involves moving to balance the space between yourself and other actors, while considering the shape of the stage and any set. As an actor you need to imagine that the stage is a plate balancing on a pole, you can’t let it fall.

Practical activity (instructions for Kaiako):

The whole class stands in a circle around the perimeter of the classroom. Four students step two steps inside the circle. One student leads by moving, in any direction they choose, clockwise, anticlockwise, directly across the circle or moving in and out to the centre. The other three students need to respond and balance the stage accordingly. You can swap students in and out, add numbers and encourage the leader to play with speed, pathways and levels.

Extension:

Using a portion of script from King Lear with staging and balancing the space. You may want to tape out an interesting shape on the floor, like a thrust or a traverse, like was used in this production of King Lear.

Revision activity (instructions for ākonga):

Thinking about the performance of King Lear and the shape of the stage used. Choose three moments in the performance where you felt the stage was purposefully balanced by the actors. Sketch and annotate these moments, make sure your annotations are detailed. Using arrows and lines, note how you think the stage has been balanced. Under each sketch explain in a detailed paragraph what was happening in this moment and how the positioning of the actors communicated some or all of the following:

• Status

• Power

• Subtext

• Relationships

THE WHEEL OF FORTUNE/GREAT CHAIN OF BEING

The way Elizabethan’s viewed the world was often shaped by two concepts; The Wheel of Fortune and The Great Chain of Being. Shakespeare used these concepts in the structure and character arcs of his plays.

• The Wheel of Fortune: This concept originates from Roman mythology, where the goddess Fortuna controlled people's lives with the spin of a wheel. Each person’s life was controlled by this wheel, which was turned at random, meaning that their fate or destiny was out of their hands. This meant that even those who were rich, comfortable and high status, with a turn of the wheel, they could find themselves in a completely different position. As they deeply believed in fate and destiny, they had to accept this change in fortunes.

• The Great Chain of Being: this is a hierarchy or order thought to be ordained by God during the mediaeval period. We imagine this hierarchy as a chain between the heavens and the earth. Everything has a place, either higher or lower than other things, beginning with God and moving all the way down to the weeds in the dirt. This included your place in society and how you were viewed by others. It is reflected in the imagery that Shakespeare uses in his writing, in the status of the characters and the disorder that drives the narrative.

Practical activity: Both concepts are heavily tied with status in Shakspeare’s work. Choose a scene from King Lear with three characters, there needs to be a change of status or fortune within the scene.

• Stage the scene with one character sitting on the floor, one on a chair and one standing. Where the status or fortune of a character changes, shuffle the order. You could do this spontaneously or read through the script first, discussing where you think there are status or fortune changes.

• Adjust your voice and posture according to this status or fortune.

• Share with a group of peers and discuss how this impacts the meaning of the scene.

• How could you use the idea in a more realistic way to stage the scene.

Revision activity: Choose a scene from the performance of King Lear where you think the Great Chain of Being and/or The Wheel of Fortune was at play. Use the following prompt to write a short essay, record a podcast as a group or create a short presentation. Do some research into both concepts, so that you can support your argument in a detailed manner.:

• Prompt: How did the concept of The Great Chain of Being and/or The Wheel of Fortune impact the characters in this scene? How was this shown in the acting, directing or design choices?

THE LANGUAGE OF HONESTY VS SHIELDING, HIDING AND LYING

Your kaiako will be able to explore the language of Shakespeare’s plays with you in depth, but this way of thinking about Blank Verse (Iambic Pentameter) and Prose will give you insight into Character’s motivations and emotional state.

• Blank Verse: Iambic Pentameter has a ten beat rhythm which sounds like a heartbeat, ba BOOM, ba BOOM, ba BOOM. It makes sense to think about blank verse being connected directly to the heart, therefore, they are speaking with honesty or sincerity.

• Prose: If blank verse is the language of honesty then it makes sense that prose might be the opposite of this; lying, hiding or shielding. This doesn’t necessarily mean they are being malicious. They could be lying to themselves about something, or hiding a secret. Often when a high status character slips out of blank verse into prose, we need to ask ourselves what are they shielding, hiding or lying about?

Practical activity (instructions for Kaiako): Choose two short scenes, one prose and one blank verse. Divide the class into groups and assign half the groups with prose script and half the class with the blank verse script. Each group needs to unpack the scene using the ideas outlined above, annotating their script and then bringing it to life using these ideas as the subtext and emotional motivation for the performance.

Revision activity (instructions for ākonga): In groups discuss King Lear’s use of language throughout the play and how it changes. Think of specific scenes where Lear was using blank verse or prose, and discuss how he communicated honesty or lying, hiding, shielding through his acting choices; body, voice, space and movement. What themes, symbols or ideas can you identify? Brainstorm your ideas, find appropriate quotations and share them back with the class. Collate all your ideas to support your revision near exam time.

Other features:

Use this chart to make a note of other features of the Elizabethan Theatre you or your kaiako might know of. Think of ways that you could play with the feature practically in class and where ATC’s cast used the features in the performance as discussion material for revision.

Feature Description of the feature

References: “Creative Shakespeare; The Globe Education Guide to Practical Shakespeare. Fiona Banks, 2014.”

Revision for Drama Externals

Below are the specifications for Achievement Standards for external drama exams (taken from the NZQA website, via the following link: https://www.nzqa.govt.nz/ncea/ subjects/assessment-specifications/ )

Keywords are bolded to aid you and the questions in this pack are designed specifically to prompt discussion or written answers that will enable you to revise successfully. You will want to have access to a glossary of Drama Components or Aspects on hand as you revise. Your teacher should have access to these or they can be found at TKI’s Arts Online. This list is not divided into the four categories Techniques, Elements, Conventions and Technologies, so a good starting point would be to make a chart dividing them up and ensuring you know the difference: https:// artsonline.tki.org.nz/Teaching-andLearning/Pedagogy/Drama/Glossary

Level One: 1.7 (90011)

Candidates should be familiar with the use of drama techniques, the use of technologies, character, and elements.

Level Two: 2.7 (91219)

Candidates should be familiar with subtext, the use of drama elements, conventions, and technologies.

Level Three: 3.7 (91518)

Candidates will be expected to make connections between the director and designer’s concept(s) and the performance seen.

Candidates should be familiar with the use of elements such as techniques, and the use of technologies and conventions.

For the purposes of this assessment, “conventions” refers to strategies that are established to make meaning; and “wider context”, as required by the criterion for Achievement with Excellence, could refer to:

• the performance as a whole

• the playwright’s purpose

• the nature and / or purpose of theatre as an art form

• the candidate’s own social, geographical, or historical context.

NOTE: Questions at all levels may cover a combination of elements, techniques, conventions, and technologies.

Revision Questions for King Lear

Note: When answering the following question you will want to find and provide physical examples from the production. A physical example is when you describe, with specificity, what is happening on stage at the time. Get down to specific detail, for example, explaining how the actor/ performer is standing or moving, how far away from the audience they are, what is happening with technology, where exactly they are in space, etc. The more detail, the better!

DRAMA TECHNIQUES: BODY, VOICE, MOVEMENT AND SPACE:

• Describe how an actor who you found interesting or compelling used drama techniques in moments of direct address (lines directed at the audience).

• Describe how two actors used ‘asides’ during a moment of tension - how did they communicate that they were not directly within the main scene? How did they connect with the audience to reveal information?

• Discuss how an actor use drama techniques during a soliloquy. What were they aiming to communicate? What did you understand at that moment?

• Explain another actor’s use of drama techniques and how they created a sense of authenticity within the performance.

• Choose specific moments where you felt the actor used their body, voice, movement and space in combination to create impact, focus or to support an important idea.

• Discuss why you think authenticity is important in a contemporary production of Shakespeare’s work?

• Thinking about King Lear’s daughters:

• How did they use techniques to create contrast between them?

• How did Goneril and Regan create contrast when interacting with their father and when their true intentions are revealed in private?

• How did this contrast with the way the actor portrayed Cordelia?

• How did an actor use drama techniques to communicate subtext in their performance? Use a specific moment and example to discuss this use of subtext.

• Discuss what you found compelling about an actor’s use of drama techniques in the performance. Choose a specific moment to focus on.

CHARACTER:

• Discuss King Lear and his fatal flaw; how is this communicated by Michael Hurst? Plot his descent into madness and describe how he uses techniques to communicate this.

• Discuss the purpose of the character Kent:

• What impact do they have on the narrative, as well as the audience and actors' relationship?

• How does the actor's use of techniques communicate their purpose in the performance?

• What impact does Kent being played by a female have on their relationship with King Lear?

• What was the purpose of the Fool in the play? Why are they integral to a Shakespearean tragedy?

• Explore the sisters: what purpose do Goneril, Regan and Cordelia serve in the narrative?

• What was the purpose of each of the characters in the play? Construct notes for each character in the performance around the following bullet points:

• Actor’s use of drama techniques to communicate the character

• What did you understand about the characters and the story?

• How they challenged you as an audience member

• How subtext was used in a specific moment to communicate an important idea.

DIRECTOR/DESIGNER CONCEPT:

• Discuss how balance was created on the stage in ensemble scenes? How does this link to the original acting style of Elizabethan theatre? What did you understand about the power of each character by their placement on the stage.

• Discuss the purpose of the performance and how the themes or ideas link to what is happening in the world; socially, politically or historically. Link your ideas to specific moments or examples from the performance.

• How did the way the performance was realised in a contemporary setting impact the style of delivery of the narrative/story?

• What features of the Elizabethan theatre form can you identify?

• How does the use of this theatre form challenge and serve the audience?

• Discuss how the director brought the story to life using Drama Components - Elements, Conventions, Techniques and Technologies.

• What do you think Michael Hurst is asking you to think about in the way he has directed King Lear?

• How did the stark staging choices affect you as an audience member?

• What was the impact of the way the design, directorial and acting choices worked together? Choose a moment that surprised, shocked or excited you to talk about.

• Discuss why the use of strong sound and lighting design was integral to this performance?

DRAMA CONVENTIONS - STRATEGIES ESTABLISHED TO MAKE MEANING AND CONNECT TO WIDER CONTEXT:

(NB - make sure you are familiar with what the established Drama Conventions are by discussing this with your teacher)

• Identify a moment in the performance where Drama Conventions were used to create focus, mood or atmosphere:

• Explain how the convention or combination of conventions were used in the performance

• Discuss the impact of the use of the convention or combination of conventions in this moment

• Discuss how meaning was created for you, as an audience member, in this moment

• Discuss how the use of a convention or combination of conventions in a specific moment helped you think about the big ideas and themes of the play.

• What was the wider context (socially, historically, politically or geographically) that this moment linked to?

DRAMA ELEMENTS AND HOW THEY DRAW OUR ATTENTION TO THEMES, MOTIFS AND SYMBOLS:

• What were the main themes, questions and ideas evident in the performance? Link these themes, questions and ideas to specific moments or examples from the performance.

• How were design and directorial elements (props, setting, AV, costuming, audience positioning and interaction) and the Drama Elements used to build the performance? How did this make you feel as a member of the audience?

• Identify recurring symbols or motifs throughout the performance. Explain why they were important in helping you understand ideas being communicated in King Lear?

• Discuss how subtext was highlighted through the way Michael Hurst created focus, mood and tension in his directing choices.

• How do these themes, symbols or ideas link to the wider world of the play and what impact does this have on the audience?

• Were there moments where the content was confronting or forced you to think about something in a new light? What impact does this have on the audience and you as a member of the audience?

• How is this performance connected to Aotearoa/New Zealand? What can you link the themes or ideas to?

TECHNOLOGY: LINK YOUR IDEAS TO SPECIFIC MOMENTS OR EXAMPLES IN THE PERFORMANCE.

Think about lighting, set, sound, props, costumes, make-up and how this helped bring you into the world of the play.

• How was technology used to create the atmosphere in the performance?

• How was technology used to support a contemporary realisation of a Shakespearean performance?

• How was technology used to highlight important ideas, themes and symbols in the performance?

• How was contrast and/or focus created or built through technology and why was this important?

• How did the use of technology help you gain a deeper understanding of the themes of King Lear?

• How did technology highlight King Lear and other characters within the performance?

• Discuss why this was impactful, exciting or challenged your expectations.

• How were costumes used to communicate the characters' purpose in the performance?

• How did the use of technology highlight or enhance a character's use of subtext in the performance? You could think about:

• How does lighting contribute to mood or tension in a specific moment that highlights the character's use of subtext?

• How does sound underscore a moment where a character is using specific subtext? What does this help you understand as an audience member?

• How do actors’ placement on the stage enhance a moment of subtext?

• How the use of a prop supported an actor’s communication of subtext in a specific moment.

IMPORTANT NOTE: When you are writing about Set or Costume, you need to be specific about the following details and also sketch what you see. Imagine the person you are writing for has not seen the production and create a vivid image in their mind of what you saw:

• For example: Set/Props

• The size, shape and dimensions of any set pieces or props used

• The materials used, their textures and the colours

Education Pack Writers: Jonathan Price and Anna Richardson

Education Pack Graphic Designer: Wanda Tambrin

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