King Lear

Dark Forest Theatre are bringing King Lear to The Studio at the Grand Opera House from Tuesday 9 March to Saturday 13 March 2027. It's a gothic adaptation of Shakespeare's tragedy, with the production adapted by Nathan Martin.

The story is one you'll know: an ageing king divides his kingdom among his three daughters based on how they declare their love for him. The youngest, Cordelia, speaks only the truth and is banished; the eldest, Goneril and Regan, inherit. From there, his dignity, sanity and eventually his life are torn from him by a self-seeking younger generation, and loyalty turns to betrayal as madness spreads. The production is billed as a gothic meditation on pride, grief, ageing and the consequences of mistaking obedience for love.

The staging sets the action in a dark, eerie world of foliage and shadow, in which the storm outside is nothing compared to the one raging within. It's a particular take on the play, leaning into that gothic atmosphere rather than a traditional courtly setting.

Dark Forest Theatre is an independent travelling company founded in Northern Ireland in 2023 by artistic director Nathan Martin, who specialises in dark and powerful storytelling with a strong ethos of artist development and visuals. Their repertoire includes A Filthy Dirty Rumour, a hard-hitting work dealing with real-life issues within the LGBTQIA+ community. King Lear is their take on a classic, adapted by Martin himself.

The run is Tuesday 9 March to Saturday 13 March, with matinees at 2:30pm and evening performances at 7:30pm. Tickets are £25, which includes the maximum applicable per-ticket booking fee. The Studio is at the Grand Opera House on Great Victoria Street, Belfast BT2 7HR.