Lear's Fool is a solo, written for a single fool, based on the tragedy written by William Shakespeare. One of the last of the royal fools, Earless the Fearless, is fool to the elderly King Lear. He regales the audience with the tale of how the King decides to give up his power and divide his realm amongst his three oh so loving daughters; Cordelia, Regan and Goneril. Surely it all end’s well? Alas not! Thus we follow a descent into tragedy, betrayal and murder, all told from the perspective of the brave Earless the Fearless.

Devilspeak Theatre Company was started in 1996. Its solo productions include; “Work is the Curse of the Drinking Classes” (An Entertainment based on the Work of Oscar Wilde), Diary of a Madman by Nikolai Gogol, Underground Man by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Harmfulness of Tobacco & Swansong by Anton Chekov and Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde by George Isherwood. All performed by Jeroen Kranenburg with décor and costumes by Koos Marais. These shows were performed abroad and throughout Cape Town including; Theresa’s Café, the Mount Nelson Hotel, Obz Café, Spin Street Restaurant Theatre amongst others.

George Isherwood was born in New York. He studied English and Latin at UNC and theatre at Villanova University and the London School of Dramatic Art. He worked as a clown and made street theatre in the 1970’s. In the 80’s Mr Isherwood played all over Europe with his Shakespeare’s Greatest Hits with Sheer Madness International Fools Theatre Company which he founded. He worked as a free-lance director and has 10 published plays. George is happily married to Richard Pels and lives by a canal in Amsterdam. www.georgeisherwood.com

Jeroen Kranenburg was born in Worcester in the Cape. He studied Performers Diploma at Little Theatre, UCT. In 1979 he emigrated to Holland. Was artistic director at Provadja Theatre in Alkmaar, North Holland, resident director at Dom Mladih in Sarajevo. In the 1980’s and 90’s he was free-lance actor and worked with several theatre companies including The Berlin Play Actors, English Theatre in Amsterdam, Theater van het Oosten and Sheer Madness with George. In 96 he returned to Cape Town and has performed with all major theatre companies. Productions include; Statements, Truth in Translation, Amadeus, The Birds, King Lear, Midsummer Night’s Dream, As you Like It (Fleur du Cap and Vita nominations), After Cardenio (Fleur du Cap nomination). Films Include; Leo and Lina, Lyla Fourie, Skoonheid, When a snake eats a snake. Television; Scoop Schoombie, Charlie Jade, Fishy Feshuns,Jeroen is also a voice artist and does theatre in education. He has two sons and lives in the Bo Kaap.

Wynne Bredenkamp is a writer, director and creative manager from the heart of Cape Town, with a BA in Theatre Making and Performance with Distinction from the University of Cape Town. In her final year of study, she was a co-winner for the Most Promising Student Writer award, as part of UCT’s performance of Behind Every Yawn is a Silent Shout in the National Arts Festival student programme. Writing, directing and producing her own work, she attended the NAF professionally the next year and won a Standard Bank Ovation Award for her first production, Salt, as well as a PANSA New Writing Award. Her newest works include Warrior Green and At The Edge of the Light, which was awarded the Theatre Arts Admin’s Emerging Director’s Bursary at the end of 2016. Wynne also tutors the Live Performance classes at AFDA, Cape Town, and has directed year-end work such as Reza De Wet\'s Good Heavens and Sophocles’ The Oresteia: Agamemnon.

Audience Responses

I enjoyed the show well acted a bit depressing so the story

We absolutely loved this brilliant performance! Outstanding!

Very badly written and loaded with very cheap laughs

Great energy, and a great skill to be able to switch from character to character so quickly. One of those plays that you could easily talk about for some time afterwards, would recommend it!

Lear's Fool is going to be great. With some tightening up and when it is targeting the right audience (learners, all haters of Shakespeare) the crowds will go wild.