Oddbodies bring their long-running one-man version of King Lear to Questors Theatre in early October.
Created and performed by Paul Morel, directed by John Mowat, this highly acclaimed production will also visit the AMATA Arts Centre at Falmouth.
King Lear as a one-man show from the point of view of the fool? Tell me more about how this came about?
I had been playing around with the text and characters for ages before I hit on the idea of using the fool to tell the story.
Once that happened it felt like everything fell into place really. The fool has licence. He’s in the story and outside of the story at the same time – so he’s able to tell it, but also make comment on it too as it goes along.
It has turned out to be a very useful device as the play is huge. Having the fool as narrator (he’s the only character that talks directly to the audience the rest are all in the play), has allowed me to condense parts of the text and move the plot along in an engaging way.
It’s also useful to be able to recap and give the fool’s thoughts and feelings on the actions of the characters.
You’ve been touring this show up and down the country. How have audiences found it, and is it a show you like to keep fresh and evolving?
Yes we’ve taken it all over the UK. Because of the simplicity of the staging we’ve been able to take it to a lot of non-theatre venues like rural village halls, libraries, stately homes, and have even played a converted shipping container.
The audiences have been incredibly responsive everywhere we’ve gone. I think they find it extremely accessible and are surprised and delighted at the humour.
We’ve had people tell us they thought they knew the play well but suddenly realised they’d understood some parts of the story for the first time.
It’s fascinating really – I remember there was an actor who told us he’d actually been in a production of it for 6 months and had never really ‘got it’ until he watched our version – that was hilarious.
Perhaps there’s something about the simplicity of having the fool being an overall narrator, recapping and commenting that allows the audience to keep up with all the different plot lines in a much more straightforward way.
The show has definitely evolved as it’s gone on. The fool keeps it fresh and alive because he responds to the audience so it’s always different.
What’s been the best thing about performing Lear in this way – and the most challenging?
The best thing is probably the versatility – being able to put it on anywhere gives us a lot more freedom and gives the show that accessibility. And of course not having to worry about anyone else can be a good thing.
The most challenging aspect is probably the flip side of this – having only myself to rely on. It can feel quite pressured sometimes.
Have you had a favourite venue or type of venue for the show over the past few years?
Playing lots of different types of venues is great from the point of view of getting the show in front of new audiences.
But in the end, I suppose my favourite space to play is probably the good old black box studio with proper lighting and raked seating.
It just makes it so much easier all round – I’m not having to compete with crazy patterned curtains or distracting village notice boards behind me.
Having said that, one of the great things about those non-theatre spaces is that the audiences can be very relaxed because it’s ’their’ space – they feel an ownership of their village hall for example which is a lovely thing to encounter.
What’s next for Oddbodies?
Well, this show will keep on doing short tours here and there, but the next project for us is hopefully going to be a totally new adaptation with a larger cast.
We have managed to secure the rights for a brilliant story that we want to work on (can’t tell you what it is right now).
It’s very early days, but we’re planning some R&D later in the year with some lovely young and brilliantly talented SW based performers who will bring a whole new level of invention and energy to the piece.
The idea is for me to direct it and then send them all out on the road !