Cordelia disguises himself as a jester to be King Lear’s father

This aimed-at-young-people 2017 Dutch production of King Lear looks interesting anyway, but the reviews as run through Google Translate really make me sorry I missed it:

“FRUSTRATED CHILDREN, UNHAPPY FATHERS

Published by Max Arian on 5 March 2017

The daughters of Lear are not just hypocritical and selfish strands at De Toneelmakerij. They have a reason to complain about their father, because he never saw them in the past, he only had an eye for his youngest daughter Cordelia. And the (bastard) son Edmond van Gloster is not such a villain at all, but it is unbearable to him that his father constantly confuses him with his other son, Edgar.”

I don’t know if “confuses” is a Google Translate error for “compares,” but I really like the idea that Gloucester, along with constantly needling Edmund for being illegitimate, also keeps slipping up and forgetting which of his sons is which.

 

“When daddy runs into his exposed hole, his offspring is blind.

Does Dad have a million in his o bag, what are his children kissing him?”

--The Jester from King Lear

The scariest thing is that I recognize which lines got put through the double-translation wringer there.

 

“Knows (Tjebbo Gerritsma) Edelman, loyal to Lear

Also useful to know:

• Kent disguises himself to be unseen

To continue to serve King Lear

• Cordelia disguises himself as a jester to be King Lear’s father
• Edgar disguises himself as Poor Tom”

Does Kent mean “Knows” in Dutch?

 

“The relationships between father and sons are already with the Gloucesters as explosive as between Lear and his daughters. Cordelia, that sugar roll, does not make sense to surpass her two sisters sweet words to her father spawn. She likes him, ready. If he is not satisfied with that takes, too bad. In that case not part of his realm, then cast away.”

 

“Despite a nice shape, a long seat”

Headline of a review that felt the show was a bit long

 

“Shakespeare wrote King Lear around 1605, between Othello and Macbeth. It usually gets along with Hamlet as one of his biggest tragedies. Liesbeth Coltof edits and directs the piece to the Stage production for everyone aged 15 and older.

 

Makers

Text William Shakespeare

Editing and direction Liesbeth Coltof

Dramaturgy Paulien Geerlings

Décor and lighting design Guus van Geffen”

 

“My granddaughter of fourteen felt that a lot of angry children had been stuffed into it. That is a problem of the original piece, which sometimes seems to contain some characters and intrigues too much. Colthof has not been able to completely undo that effect with her excellent editing.”

 

www.toneelmakerij.nl