William Shakespeare’s “King Lear” presented by second year students of National School of Drama at Bahumukh captures the tragedy of a doting king caused by filial ingratitude with dramatic intensity. Intricately woven into the narrative is the heart-breaking suffering of another father whose eyes are gouged out as a result of the treachery of his son. Finely tuned, the production stuns the audience as it watches the unfolding on the stage the blackest depth of human soul. Underneath the surface is the tragedy of a society in which mad men are led by the blind is revealed.
Translated into Hindi by Qudsia Andaleeb Alam, the original text has been pruned to reduce the longest playing time.
The play is directed by Abdul Latif Khatana, a senior member of the NSD faculty and founder-actor-teacher of Theatre-in-Education Company of NSD. Nationally acclaimed as a specialist in children’s theatre and dramaturgy, he has several significant productions of classics and contemporary plays to his credit. A sensitive director, the hallmark of his artistry is to bring to the fore the inherent poetry in the dramatic piece to project it through visual imagery. Tragic poetic lyricism pervades throughout the production.
The play opens with the entry of King Lear with his courtiers, nobles and lords in a grand style befitting of a great king proud of his achievements, desperate to execute his plan to divide his kingdom among his three daughters - Goneril, Regan and Cordelia-on the basis of the depth of their love for him. Expressing rhetorically their love, Goeneril and Regan manage to enrapture their father’s ego and his dear younger daughter Coredelia who is sincere and truly loves her father merely says, “…I love your majesty according to my bond; nor more nor less.”
This answer makes King Lear furious. He deprives Cordelia of her right to the kingdom. King Lear divides it among his elder and second daughters. Only good Kent protests against the injustice done to Cordelia. King of France accepts her hand and they leave Lear’s kingdom. The king feels that he has done great justice, believing that he will lead a happy retired life with his mere 100 men to serve him. The scene ends on a tense note. The lighting focuses on a huge chair with two sisters sitting on it, displaying their hidden cruelty and monstrosity through their dreadful facial expression.
Betrayed by son
Earl of Gloster, whose eyes are gorged out on orders of the most terrible and savage sisters for his sympathy for the king deprived of all his rights of an old retired king to live with dignity. Gloster is betrayed by his son Edmund, the base born, who first creates enmity between Gloster and his son Edgar. In fact, Edmund’s villainy is the kind of protest against a world which debars a base born the right to property of a father. Edgar is the legitimate son of Gloster. Edmund says, “…Edmund, the base shall top the legitimate. I grow; I prosper; Now gods, stand up for bastards…” In his ferocity, treachery and vitality, he becomes the darling of the two monstrous sisters who fight among themselves like mad dog to win his heart. Edmund wants to wear the crown himself.
In contrast to the opening scene, towards the end we watch King Lear exposed to rain and storm in the company of a blind man (Gloster) and a mad man (Edgar feigning as mad man). The fool and Kent are with him to protect him from the savagery of the nature, illustrating the fall and decay of the world of King Lear. In the words of Fool, he is just a "Lear's shadow." The intensity of tragedy brings catharsis.
Santanu Bose has conceived the set with ingenuity providing bare surface for the action.
There are four columns placed in different spaces which suggest an era ruled by king and his feudal chiefs like Dukes and Earls. Aesthetically designed costume by Amba Sanyal with the touch of royal grandeur, highly subtle lighting effects by Raghav Prakash and offstage sounds by Santosh Kumar Singh (Sandy) lend magical aura to the production. The use of two-tier platform on either side upstage and several exit and entry points ensure seamless flow of the action.
The scene where blind Gloster is led by Edgar, disguising as Mad Tom, to a destination from where he can jump to commit suicide is enacted in a non-illusionistic way, using element of pantomime while the performers walk over the empty stage.
Utsav Gadhavi as King Lear projects various facets of the journey of his character from glory to his total downfall with remarkable finesse. Amir Khan as Gloster, Paalin as Edmund, the bastard son to Gloster give brilliant performances. Masood Qadir Malik as Edgar, the son to Gloster make his scene with Gloster touching, conveying his suffering and torments in a restraint way and finally rises to heroic height when he fights against Edmund, the ruthless conspirator who ruined his father. Devika B. Hemant appearing as a Fool and Saurabh Meshram as good Earl of Kent and Ipsita Kundu as the lovable and truthful Cordelia who loved her father from the bottom of her heart, give impressive performances.
Puneet Kumar Mishra as Duke of Cornwall, who gouged the eyes of Gloster, Sugandh Pandey as Goneril and Shilpa Bharati as Regan strike terror in the hearts of the audience for the satnik deeds of their characters.
Published - April 26, 2019 12:35 pm IST
