THE SHADOW KING

That ‘ol King Lear fella still goin’

The Shadow King is a retelling of Shakespeare’s King Lear tale in an Australian indigenous setting. This play delivers a powerful experience, generated mostly from the truly amazing mobile set, excellent costumes, passionate music and the very clever use of film as an integral component of this production. So the surface of this work is very strong, but unfortunately the core is a little soft. Using Lear as a blueprint imposes a medieval structure of failed hierarchical chivalry, with a Renaissance gloss, onto an ancient tribal culture. The resulting drama feels fragile and forced. Frequent poor audibility and variable acting quality further undermined the core of this production.

But the large ever moving set that looked like a massive military weapon was astounding. It shape shifted between scenes and provided a perfect royal setting, a goal, a cliff, a field and much, much more. This device was surrounded by a field of red dust that rose and fell as bodies moved to and fro. The costumes varied from indigenous, such as Edgar’s bark man, to colonial and semi military. They helped to differentiate the many characters and the changes in their circumstances. The production had three musicians on stage producing music that drove the story and provided energy and highlights of light and darkness. The back of the broad deep stage of Bay 17 at Carriageworks was filled with a massive screen that moved in many directions. The various projections used during the play truly super-sized the story by adding a vast visual and emotional power to what the actors were delivering. I can’t imagine this play without the film that enfolds it. The overall design of this production provided a rich fulfilling experience.

This play began its life at the Malthouse Theatre in Melbourne and hopefully it will travel further and evolve even more complexity during its journey.

Stephen Carnell

Director: Michael Kantor.

Musical Director: John Rodgers.

Composer: Kelly Ryall.

Set Design: Paul Jackson, Michael Kantor, David Miller.

Film: Natasha Gadd, Rhys Graham, Murray Lui.

Cast: Jada Alberts, Jimi Bani, Frances Djulibing, Rarriwuy Hick, Damion Hunter, Kamahi Djordon King, Tom E Lewis, Natasha Wanganeen.