Theatre Royal Waterford has announced the release of its annual Shakespeare Review for Leaving Cert students, featuring King Lear, which this year is being delivered online to homes and schools across the region.

Directed by Liam Meagher, facilitated by former English teacher Edward Denniston and starring Jenny Fennessy, Andrew Holden, Anne O’Riordan, Joe Meagher and Simon O’Gorman in the title role, the King Lear Review provides a study of key scenes from this year’s Leaving Cert prescribed text, explored in detail by theatre facilitators. The digital stream, available to purchase for €5, was rehearsed and filmed live on stage at Theatre Royal Waterford in strict adherence to public health guidelines.

“The King Lear Review will animate the prescribed Leaving Certificate text for students whose primary experience of it is as a literary text they study in class”, commented director Liam Meagher. “This review doesn’t just retell the plot; instead, we selected key scenes to help students decide how they understand and respond to the play’s central characters - what they say and why they say it, what they do and why they do it. It provides an enlightening experience for the students to witness the scenes brought to life on stage, encouraging them to engage with both the performance and the text.”

Upon purchase, the digital stream will be available to the student for multiple viewings until June, 2021. The resource pack also includes a book of essays from WIT English and Theatre Studies faculty staff, plus a Q&A recorded video session between Leaving Cert students from a number of schools across the region and the creative team.

The King Lear Review is available to purchase for €5 at www.theatreroyal.ie