As envisioned by director Travis Preston, this new version of Shakespeare’s tragedy, with a text adapted by Royston Coppenger, premiered in 2002 and was staged in six locations within the massive factory spaces of the Brewery Arts Complex in downtown Los Angeles.
As the inaugural production of the CalArts Center for New Performance, Lear challenged traditional interpretations of the play by employing a staging area of environmental proportions, unconventional uses of technology, an all-female cast, and a gripping post-modern aesthetic. Audiences journeyed through a series of visual installations including 40-foot video projections and a suspended car wreck.
The production garnered five L.A. Ovation Award nominations, three NAACP Theater Awards including Best Production, Best Performance by a Female for Fran Bennett as King Lear, and Best Lighting Design, and traveled by invitation to France for the 2003 Frictions Festival in Dijon, the international theater festival produced by Théâtre Dijon Bourgogne.
