Dudley designs ‘startlingly effective’ King Lear
Lucy Bailey’s new production of King Lear for the Theatre Royal Bath, designed by William Dudley and starring David Haig, has attracted rave reviews, being described variously as ‘daring and startlingly effective’ (Telegraph), ‘extraordinarily potent’ (Express) and a ‘gripping new gangland take on Shakespeare’s most forbidding tragedy‘ (Mail).
Reviewers made particular mention of Dudley’s designs. Charles Spencer, writing in the Telegraph, praised the effectiveness of Dudley’s use of projections:
‘The initial scene in which Lear divides his kingdom between his daughters is set in a the back room of a handsome London pub, brilliantly evoked in William Dudley’s designs which make superb use of projections to create a host of locations from a penthouse apartment and a London nightclub to a bleak doss-house.’
Susannah Clapp in the Observer says ‘William Dudley’s design moves from super-chic transparent screens (the heath scene could be taking place in an art gallery) to a set-less black wilderness’ while Kate Bassett in The Independent comments on how fluidly this works: ‘William Dudley uses scrims and projections to realise numerous settings as fluidly as possible’. Finally, Patrick Marmion in The Mail describes how:
‘William Dudley’s design … sets these spivs in a shifting sea of projected landscapes: a bustling snooker hall, a desolate car park, a panorama of derelict industrial estates.’ Read more: The Mail
The production runs at the Theatre Royal Bath until 10 August.