Eyes Being Vexed

Lauren Polson Hamblen as Regan and Ron Pyle (in chair) as Gloucester

Someone commented on the background of this blog, so I figured I'd explain it in this post. This is a photo from a 2005 production of King Lear that I designed and directed. In researching the text, I found lots of references to land and land ownership. Some of Shakespeare's phrases reminded me of images I got while reading Chekhov and Tolstoy—especially the short story "How Much Land Does a Man Need?" That led me into researching images of land/possessions and people in turn-of-the-century Russia—the vastness of the empire, the desire for more than what one has. That informed my decision to set the play in a very large kingdom with some greedy and ruthless heiresses. The coldness/harshness of the terrain I imagined is also reflected in the costume design. I noticed the word "fox" used a number of times in the text of the play, and I liked the multiple connotations of that word that even modern audiences can relate to. So I dressed the woman in Edwardian with touches of fox fur—especially Regan, who at a point in the play demands that her husband put out Gloucester's eyes. I love the chair that Dave Vierow made for this scene. It was inspired by some electric chair research.