The Genesian Theatre Company made a good fist of The Bard’s greatest tragedy,‘King Lear’ in a recent production.

Under director and designer Gary Dooley it was quite a physical, intense production. The fight scenes, choreographed by Felicity Steel, were violent enough to have some of the young people in the audience gasping.

There was clearly a lot of effort put into the production with one of the most intricate set designs I’ve seen at the Genesians for a long time. The set included a pond and fountain. The lighting design by Eric Bicknell and Roger Gimblett added to the drama.

The performances were of a mixed quality with some stand-outs. It was a case of the men outdoing the women. Keith Potten gave a strong performances as Lear. Jason Murdoch was a confident, evil villain Edmund, Andrew Purches was a very animated, tall and gangly Fool. The finest performance came from Rohan Maloy in an energized, colourful performance in the double role of Edgar and Tom of Bedlam.