"It’s Shakespeare Jim,
but not as we know it"
Content Warning:
This piece contains vivid depictions of
Very Poor Parenting.
SPOILER ALERT:
At the end of Shakespeare’s play, Lear dies.
His last words are “Look, there”
His faithful follower and protector, Kent, wishes him a speedy release.
“Break heart”, he urges.
What I’m wondering is: what happens then?
Come on, we all wonder that, sometimes, don’t we? What happens after you die?
Well, that’s where this show starts.
Some reviews of the Show
“Hurley’s performance is a tour de force… He engaged with the audience brilliantly… well worth watching”
North West End ****
“Saw Lear’s Shadow on Friday, f**king brilliant, best thing I’ve seen in years”
“One of the best pieces of theatre I’ve ever seen”
“…on the edge of my seat…”
“…a mad genius…”
“…a superb one-man performance. Throughout the 75 minute performance, Hurley captivates” Theatre and Arts Review ****
“It was brilliant, funny (very funny) cheeky, moving and stirring.
A perfect cocktail.”
“A belter of a show”
“Just seen the utterly brilliant Colin Hurley give a masterclass of a performance in his one man show “Lear’s Shadow”. When it’s on again. All my actor and ex student actor friends and anybody else must see this virtuoso of a Shakespearean actor lighting up the stage”
“…beautiful…”
Hurley delivers a surprising, irresistibly human and comic Lear. This is more an ordinary man with a man’s vanities and vulnerabilities, yet there is an air of decayed nobility about him… Lear’s Shadow is a consistently engaging distillate of Shakespeare’s iconic tragedy. It may come from behind the weighty tragedy, but it throws light onto its darkness.
...
British Theatre Guide
“Colin Hurley’s one-man adaptation/exploration/reimagining of Shakespeare’s Lear.
It is superb.
If you like Shakespeare, or if you hate it, do yourselves a massive one and go and see this.
It is illuminating, heartfelt and brilliant.”
“…brilliant, funny, thoughtful, inspired, imaginative… I could go on. … thoroughly enjoyed every one of the 75 minutes”