Web Series Wednesday – LEAR

By: Spring Marie Cullen

WHAT? LEAR

BY: Cream-Faced Loons Theater Company

WHY SHOULD I WATCH?

Shakespeare meets COVID-19 in LEAR, a new web series told through video calls and WhatsApp group chats based on King Lear. With the majority of the world quarantined and working from home, I expected an influx of series told in this manner. However, I’m not sure if everyone can pull it off the way Cream-Faced Loons has done it. The storytelling still takes a front seat and it never felt like they were, no pun intended, phoning it in. They do use the medium to their advantage though! I was especially amused by Lear (Margaret Grimoldby) herself being completely off center during the first episode.

The original work lends itself well to this version and jumps off with Ronnie (Nicki Davy) and Regan (Eleanor Hawthorne) ignoring isolation protocol to visit their mother, much to sibling Lia’s (Roze Elisa) distaste. Naturally, Lia is upset with her sisters, who quickly reveal their mother paid them during their visits. Lear sees her daughter refusing to visit and trying to keep her home as a sign she doesn’t care, when it’s the opposite. Lia highlights the importance of staying home to her mother and sisters, but it falls on deaf ears. She’s the only one taking it seriously. It’s perfectly relevant to those who don’t see the severity of our current crisis while staying true to the source material.

There are currently five episodes available and they’ll be releasing new episodes daily for the next two weeks. The most recent episode was short and simple, but really gets to the core of what I think this series will be about. Elisa’s performance was subtle and strong and conveyed some real emotion in a few short moments.

If you’re a fan of Shakespeare and love a good adaptation, you’re dealing with your own crazy family or you’re just looking for something fun to watch, LEAR is definitely worth checking out. In addition to this new series, the Cream-Faced Loons’ YouTube page is also filled with other Shakespeare inspired videos.

WHERE CAN I WATCH? Episodes are available on YouTube.

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