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9-19 March 1983, Free Theatre, The Arts Centre
"Christchurch's newest theatre, the Free Theatre, will present a Shakespearean tragedy, King Lear from this evening. It is the theatre's second production since it opened in its permanent home in the Arts Centre, last December. The theatre opened with Alfred Jarry's farce "King Ubu". "King Lear" is a natural complement to "King Ubu," according to the theatre's director, Peter Falkenberg. Both plays confront blindness, but in very different ways. Mr Falkenberg sees "King Lear" as one of the 'holy cows" in English theatre. Most productions are either politely conventional or "original," he says. The Free Theatre's production aims to avoid such tags..."
ArticlesFree Theatre is 'poor' theatre and has an appeal to the imagination of its actors and its audience. Under these conditions, Shakespeare becomes a surprisingly modern and unknown author. |
ReviewsIt is only a short walk from the Court Theatre to Christchurch's new Free Theatre. But stylistically the two are poles apart. The Court cultivates a fluent, mannered style best suited to comedies of manners. The Free Theatre (at least when Peter Falkenberg is directing) is extraordinarily deliberate. Its productions move slowly and are therefore almost always very long. ...if you enjoy seeing people not dressed in the costume of the period and a couple of nude men tossed in for good measure, then your money will be well spent. ...the play is presented in assorted modern dress, with a minimum of props and staging. The result is a surprising informal approach that appears deceptively undramatic. 
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