UT King Lear Gets Back to Shakespearean Basics

Few writers are fortunate enough to apprentice to a master.

However, veteran British actor Geoffrey Beevers, artist-in-residence at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, says such a possibility is as close as the bookstore, the library or the theater.

Beevers recommends Shakespeare as a worthy role model. “He’s my favorite playwright,” he says. “There’s so much to learn from him. The language he uses is beautiful, unbelievably vivid.” Currently, Beevers is delving deeply into Shakespeare’s technique via “King Lear.” He will assume the title role in a University Theatre production opening Feb. 21.

The UT version of Lear will offer high-octane Shakespeare for the students working on the production and the audiences that eventually will see it. According to director David Frank, another guest artist drawn from the American Players Theatre in Spring Green, the production has been pared down, bypassing elaborate staging and costumes to bring out most fully the playwright’s language.

“The play has become barnacled with images of hugeness that no production can meet fully,” Frank says. “We’ve tried to tackle the story as if we’ve never encountered it before, so that the energy comes out of Shakespeare’s story itself rather than four centuries’ worth of expectations.”

Beevers finds this back-to-basics approach familiar. In fact, he used it for “The Tempest” during his last visit to Madison four years ago, with the Actors from the London Stage company.

In addition to Beevers, whose credentials include film (“Victor/Victoria” and “Curse of the Pink Panther”), radio, television (including an appearance as Inspector Montgomery in the BBC/PBS “Sherlock Holmes” series), voice-overs and, of course, the stage, the UT cast will include two faculty members, seven graduate students and 12 undergraduates. If the production gives participants the chance to study a master writer, it also allows them to observe and learn from theater professionals at the top of their art.

Vocal coach Karen Ryker, UW–Madison assistant professor of theatre and drama, says the experience challenges students to produce their absolute best.

“They not only have the opportunity to watch, but to engage with the guest artists actor-to-actor and actor-to-director,” she says. “David works with these student actors as he would with professionals, probing the script, pushing their understanding of the moments they play, prodding them to go deeper into the minds of the characters,” she says – integrating, perhaps, the discipline of psychology with theater and literature.

According to Frank, a professional for more than 30 years, directing students in a university setting is providing another dimension to his own career. “I’ve discovered that I want to teach as well as direct,” he says. “This project is a thrilling opportunity for me to explore the teaching aspect of my work.”

The University Theatre will present “King Lear” Feb. 21, 22 and 27-28, and March 1-2 and 6-9 in Vilas Hall’s Mitchell Theatre. All performances will begin at 7:30 p.m. Tickets, $11 general/$8 students, are available through the Vilas Hall Box Office, (608) 262-1500.