Lear’s daughters, Drama Barn
Rating: 
Dramasoc’s run began this term with a production of Lear’s Daughters. The play is the result of a collaboration between Elaine Feinstein and The Woman’s Theatre Company. This is feminist writing at its best; the script explores the multiple possibilities of Shakespeare’s original text and is also imbued with startling contemporary relevance.
York’s production used the intimacy of the Drama Barn to impressive effect. The rivalry between the three women was highlighted from the play’s very beginning, with even the Nurse’s (Fran Trewin) stories causing friction between the sisters. Story-telling plays a crucial role in the play. The fool, played dynamically by Tania Chinje, is at the forefront of every scene as a kind of narrator, drawing the audience into the story with clever sets of repetition and puns.
Particularly striking was Emma Charley’s portrayal of Cordelia, whose initial naive joy became more and more tinged with notes of despair. The play also gives the two elder daughters – Goneril and Regan played by Jess Hill and Lydia Vas Nunes – a depth to their characters, providing some degree of explanation for the seemingly mindless cruelty and aggression their Shakespearian counterparts display.
The production emphasised the restriction of the daughters and conveyed their passions with dynamic intensity.
