Show Finder
King Lear
First Preview: Sep 28, 2015
Opening Date: Oct 12, 2015
Closing Date: Oct 13, 2015
Running Time: 01:40
Playing @
Irondale Center
85 South Oxford Street, Brooklyn, NY 11217
Irondale presents The Independent Eye theatre ensemble’s inspired two-person vision of William Shakespeare’s King Lear. Played out within the confines of an aluminum cage, King Lear and The Fool are accompanied by nearly 30 life-sized, hand, and finger puppets operated by actors and master puppeteers Conrad Bishop and Elizabeth Fuller.
King Lear is the puppeteer of his own puppet show, obsessively playing out his loss of family, power, friendship, shelter, sanity, and hope. In his mind, he is the only real human in his motherless kingdom of power and commodity, where love is merchandise for barter. The Fool, an acid clown who goads Lear in his desperation, stage-manages his story until they both succumb to Lear’s madness. This stunning two-person take on King Lear puts an ingenious spin on The Bard’s tragic tale of power and distorted love.
“We have approached Shakespeare only when we felt that we could bring a unique vision to the work,” said director and actor Conrad Bishop. “For us, Shakespeare is uniquely suited to puppetry because the stories are deeply metaphorical, and the medium allows shifts from realistic behavior to metaphor in startling ways. And puppets allow a broad gestural life that’s true to the Elizabethan style of acting and totally absent on the live-actor stage today."
PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE:
MONDAY & TUESDAY @ 7:30 PM
King Lear is the puppeteer of his own puppet show, obsessively playing out his loss of family, power, friendship, shelter, sanity, and hope. In his mind, he is the only real human in his motherless kingdom of power and commodity, where love is merchandise for barter. The Fool, an acid clown who goads Lear in his desperation, stage-manages his story until they both succumb to Lear’s madness. This stunning two-person take on King Lear puts an ingenious spin on The Bard’s tragic tale of power and distorted love.
“We have approached Shakespeare only when we felt that we could bring a unique vision to the work,” said director and actor Conrad Bishop. “For us, Shakespeare is uniquely suited to puppetry because the stories are deeply metaphorical, and the medium allows shifts from realistic behavior to metaphor in startling ways. And puppets allow a broad gestural life that’s true to the Elizabethan style of acting and totally absent on the live-actor stage today."
PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE:
MONDAY & TUESDAY @ 7:30 PM
Show Notes: No Intermission
Age Guidance: 13
Audience Advisory:
TDF Tickets Offers:
Listed at 
Never
Full-price tickets:
$25.00 - $25.00
Reviews
-
Quite frankly, I have never seen anything like it. Within the confines of a puppet stage, too cramped even to stand up, these two create a sweeping, theatrically satisfying version of King Lear that can hold its own with the work of any Shakespeare Festival in the United States.”
— Charles Kruger, TheatreStorm -
Quite frankly, I have never seen anything like it. Within the confines of a puppet stage, too cramped even to stand up, these two create a sweeping, theatrically satisfying version of King Lear that can hold its own with the work of any Shakespeare Festival in the United States.”
— Charles Kruger, TheatreStorm -
Quite frankly, I have never seen anything like it. Within the confines of a puppet stage, too cramped even to stand up, these two create a sweeping, theatrically satisfying version of King Lear that can hold its own with the work of any Shakespeare Festival in the United States.”
— Charles Kruger, TheatreStorm -
Quite frankly, I have never seen anything like it. Within the confines of a puppet stage, too cramped even to stand up, these two create a sweeping, theatrically satisfying version of King Lear that can hold its own with the work of any Shakespeare Festival in the United States.”
— Charles Kruger, TheatreStorm
Accessibility
-
Elevator/Escalator
None available -
Parking
Irondale does not have a parking lot; however, there are numerous public parking lots. -
Restroom
Accessible restrooms in Lobby only -
Telephone
None on premises -
Water Fountain
None available. -
Wheelchair Info
Irondale is located on the second floor; however we are ADA compliant with a handicapped entrance and restrooms located in the lobby. There is no elevator, but there is a Handi-lift that can carry up to 450 pounds. The balcony is not wheelchair accessible.




















