KING
LEAR
Cohen
has directed three productions of this most powerful of Shakespearean
tragedies.
Review
Excerpts
at
UCI, 1989
“RADICAL
REVELATION. UC Irvine's smashing version…, conceived and
directed by Robert Cohen, is a radical reconception that clarifies….
Shakespeare's great tragedy moves swiftly and incisively, and
for all its highly theatrical unorthodoxies, it traces with
singular intensity the classic arc of Lear laid low." --Los
Angeles Times
“BEST
PLAY OF THE YEAR," "BEST DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR,”
solo
awards, Los Angeles Times (year-end wrap-up).
"SEETHING
LEAR. Powerful and articulate;… a "Lear" that
reaches for both the heart and the throat,…
Cohen strips the script to its visceral core, giving his actors
a more significant adversarial relationship…
If you see one "King Lear" in your lifetime, the UCI
production is the one to experience and savor." --Daily
Pilot.
"BEST
DIRECTION OF THE YEAR: Orange County Register
(with two others, year end wrap-up)
"Were there not real-world reminders that this is indeed
UCI - the familiar parking mess, the sterile architecture -
we might mistake the site for some major theatrical center,
so enlightening is Cohen's staging, and so persuasive is his
cast. Knight's Lear is a revelation… Time itself flies
imperceptibly in this resonant production." --Orange
County Register
at
Utah Shakespearean Festival, 1999.
“****THE
CROWNING ACHIEVEMENT AT FESTIVAL… [The] stark, spare,
dramatically urgent interpretation… provides a particularly
piercing exploration of the conflicts and frailties that engulf
us all, whether in Shakespeare's day or our own… Cohen
displays his mastery… plunging us into the mud and blood
along with Lear as he scrambles to find his way through the
maddening maze of life…. The crowning achievement of this
season's three Shakespeare productions.” --Las
Vegas Review Journal
“Cohen's
adeptly staged interpretation of this massive work perplexes
with its questions and startles with its horror...Cohen's production
is graced with seamless technical artistry that supports every
action and nuance of his gifted acting ensemble.” --Salt
Lake Tribune
“King
Lear, one of Shakespeare’s greatest tragedies, is bar
none the best show at this year's Utah Shakespearean Festival.
An exciting, enthralling story of familial love and personal
ambition.” --Provo Daily Herald
at
Colorado Shakespeare Festival, 1986
“****
(four stars) Stunningly theatrical, a play that can keep the
audience at the edge of its seat while the action races headlong
toward its terminus. Brilliant set… superbly lighted…
sparklingly clear… --Denver Post.
“Dudley
Knight gives a magnificent performance… remarkable staging…,
the audience was leaning forward spellbound as Knight led a
talented cast through a timeless play.” --Boulder
Camera
“RADICAL
REVELATION. UC Irvine's smashing version…, conceived and
directed by Robert Cohen, is a radical reconception that clarifies….
Shakespeare's great tragedy moves swiftly and incisively, and
for all its highly theatrical unorthodoxies, it traces with
singular intensity the classic arc of Lear laid low." --Los
Angeles Times
“****THE
CROWNING ACHIEVEMENT AT FESTIVAL… [The] stark, spare,
dramatically urgent interpretation… provides a particularly
piercing exploration of the conflicts and frailties that engulf
us all, whether in Shakespeare's day or our own… Cohen
displays his mastery… plunging us into the mud and blood
along with Lear as he scrambles to find his way through the
maddening maze of life…. The crowning achievement of this
season's three Shakespeare productions.” --Las
Vegas Review Journal
“King
Lear, one of Shakespeare’s greatest tragedies, is bar
none the best show at this year's Utah Shakespearean Festival.
An exciting, enthralling story of familial love and personal
ambition.” --Provo Daily Herald 