The Storm begins.....

Welcome to the online blog for King Lear at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2012. THE STORM BEGINS HERE...

Over the next four months we will be updating you on the progress of the show. We are incredibly excited to be bringing a modern adaptation of Shakespeare's classic tragedy to one of the Fringe's most distinctive venues: The Monkey House at Zoo.

The show was first performed in Cardiff in February 2012 to critical acclaim. It was directed by Madison Fowler and Piers Horner, featured a cast drawn from Act One: Cardiff University's drama society, and an original score by Cardiff DJ Nick 'F-block' Cotton. The setting is a dystopian version of Britain in the near future, where an apocalyptic natural catastrophe has led to society's fragmentation into gangs. Lear is the reluctant leader of one such gang. His ruthless rise to power was motivated by survival, but the murder of his son prompts him to seek to divorce himself from the position he occupies. He splits his kingdom between two of his daughters - Goneril and Regan - and in a fit of petulance banishes the third - Cordelia - for not appeasing his pride into the arms of his enemies.

It soon becomes clear, however, that he has been deceived and as Goneril and Regan seek to wrestle power from his grasp by any means, Lear realises his mistake. He is cast out into the midst of a storm and bloody gang war which threatens to destroy his sanity and all he holds dear.

The version of Lear being taken to the Fringe features most of the original members of the cast, and has been funded by Cardiff University Student's Union. We will be performing between the 12th and 18th August 2012 between 12.15 and 13.30. In the upcoming months, however, there is a lot to be done. We will need to adapt the script and score to fit into a shorter time slot; develop four new actors to take on the roles we need to re-audition for, and faithfully map the original concept into a new performance space with a different atmosphere and technical facilities. It's going to be dramatic. It's going to be exciting. Let's hope it doesn't end in tragedy!