Compagnia de’ Colombari’s production of King Lear at University Theatre — whose first performance was part of Friday night’s big kickoff for the International Festival of Arts and Ideas — doesn’t start, so much as the audience blinks and then it’s happening.
Alternating lines, the cast sets the scene: King Lear of Britain has decided to step down from the throne, and divide his kingdom among his three daughters. But first, they must pass his test, by telling him how much they love him. It’s a classic tale of vanity gone awry, a condemnation of the pretty words that Shakespeare himself made a living crafting.
