William Shakespeare is known for his tragic heroes and one of his tragic characters, King lear, was portrayed by a clown in a play, Nothing like lear. The play was staged here on Wednesday at Antarang Hall, Bharat Bhavan.
The play was a part of a three-day programme to observe the 450th anniversary of William Shakespeare’s birth organised by Club literati, Bhopal. Director Rajat Kapoor has given a tremendously wonderful and unique outlook to Shakespeare’s drama, King lear. Moreover, the sole actor Atul Kumar too has given a splendid performance, that maintained the interest of the audiences and they watched him performing on the stage with rapt attention.
Shakespeare’s King lear is one of the most tragic figures of world literature, a king who lost both his kingdom and his kin as he descends into senility and ultimately, an old fool. This story of the unsuccessful King lear was narrated by a beat-up clown. Nothing like lear was narrated through a middle class Maharashtrian, a 60-year-old father who takes three trains and then a crowded bus to come and see his daughter who has thrown him out. Once he is forced to do a character of a King i.e. King lear and how the clown does manage to do it was outstandingly showcased in the play.
Moreover, the clown has plenty of reasons to be depressed. The one he loved the most has left him and gone away for good. Then, he is not getting any younger. In fact he is old. But more than anything else, he is depressed because he has been forced to perform this play. He wasnRs t supposed to play it tonight but circumstances have forced him to do this play about a king and his daughters.
The 80-minute play was like a mass treat for the theatre lovers. Notably, this isn’t the first time that director Rajat Kapoor brings a comic take to a Shakespearean tragedy rife with saboteurs and earnest fools. Kapoor introduced the lovable buffoons from his play ‘C for Clown’ into the 2008 hit spoof ‘Hamlet–The Clown Prince.’ The audiences were left mesmerized till the end. With matured acting skills, Atul manages to keep the eyes locked in him.