Mackenzie Olson
Paper 3: King Lear
A Critique of the Production: King Lear
King Lear, a tragedy written by William Shakespeare, is a story of betrayal, deception,
greed and forgiveness. Overall, the production was excellent and many elements worked
cohesively to contribute to its success, but what I found most striking was the elaborate work of
the costume designer, Coral Bowron, and scenic/projection designer, Will Yanni. Yanni’s
inclusion of archaic and eerie design elements within the production’s set successfully aided in
the believability of the storyline, the creation of a dark and dismal atmosphere and added to the
dramatic effect. The genius work of Bowron resulted in intricate costumes that contained dark
neutral color schemes and minute details that helped not only to shape character personas, but
