King Lear's Fools Tale

It was whilst John D Slater was working on the Lawrence Olivier/Granada TV production of Shakespeare's King Lear, that he began to take particular interest in the character of the Fool and the fool’s role.

However, it was during the recent lock-down period, after viewing, via various internet sites, no fewer that five different productions of Shakespeare's King Lear, that John felt that might be a fascinating challenge to give the Fool a chance to have his own say.

And so John set down to write King Lear's Fool's Tale. What does the Fool see that the King Lear doesn't, or won't see? When he dares to give the king advice, even jokingly, he comes very close to a beating or worse.

But the Fool does not desert him and stays with him to almost the very end. His tale is both humorous, as well as touching at times.

"a witty, intelligent and moving account of Shakespeare’s King Lear from the perspective of the Fool...John Slater’s talents allow him to juggle all these aspects of the Fool, to create a poignant ending to the performance where the fragility of the future for Lear and the Fool, and more widely of comedy and compassion, becomes tangible. Highly recommended!" Alison Findlay, Professor of Renaissance Drama and Director of the Shakespeare Programme at Lancaster University, writing for the Lancashire Post

"The audience was rapt, which I think showed Slater’s subtle skill as an actor...The show was scheduled for an hour and it didn’t seem like that, the time shooting by." David Simper for Blackpool Social Club Internet Magazine.