El Portal Sedona Hotel announces the return of Crooked Figure Theatre Co. return to Sedona on Friday and Saturday, July 26 and 27.
The Crooked Figure Theatre will perform William Shakespeare’s King Lear at El Portal Sedona Hotel. Actors will be moving and interacting with guests; the production will move through El Portal, asking audiences to accompany performers through the beautiful space.
“We’re really planning to localize the play,” Director Christina Gutierrez-Dennehy said. “We’ll use both the beautiful great room and relaxing courtyard as performance spaces, and really pull the audience into the story as we go.”
William Shakespeare’s King Lear is the story of a diseased mind and heart that leads to the downfall of a kingdom.
“Crooked Figure is focusing its work on representations of mental illness in Lear,” Gutierrez-Dennehy said. “We’re re-imagining one of the play’s characters as a voice in Lear’s brain that results from the sudden recognition that he has, possibly for the first time in his reign, made a grave error that destroys his family. The guilt and grief that result from this decision, and the depression that Lear falls into, create space within his mind for a growing disturbance.
“We’re excited to explore these contemporary issues of mental illness within Shakespeare’s classic story,” Gutierrez-Dennehy said.
The performance features 12 talented actors, including Ben Alexander, CFT’s resident scenographer as Lear.
King Lear will be performed at 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday, July 26 and 27, at El Portal Sedona Hotel, located at 95 Portal Lane in Sedona.
The production will be free of charge to the public. No reservations are needed; seating is first come, first served. Parking will be available at El Portal and in nearby lots, signage will direct guests to parking locations.
Crooked Figure Theatre is a summer production company based in Northern Arizona University’s Department of Theatre.
Crooked Figure Theatre marries direct, honest storytelling with experimentation and audience engagement. Their site-specific company tells both old and new stories in culturally relevant and imaginative ways, pushing the creative boundaries of what a theatre can be and the impact it can and should have on everyday lives. CFT is sponsored in part by Northern Arizona University Department of Theatre.
Visit ElPortalSedona.com for more
