On a recent sun-drenched morning in Point Pleasant Park, one of Shakespeare’s darkest tragedies is about to unfold onstage. It’s a rehearsal day for Shakespeare By The Sea, and the actors are in light-hearted moods, merrily running lines and practising fight choreography. Even the run-through of Act 1 feels relaxed; after working together for more than a month, the company has developed a distinct rhythm. Then comes the iconic scene of King Lear disowning his beloved daughter Cordelia. As Lear unleashes his fury and his youngest child sinks to her knees, Catherine Rainville’s stoic intensity as Cordelia is heartbreaking. After she exits the stage, she brushes tears from her eyes.
“The first time we did the scene where he banishes me”, says Catherine later, “I was probably just sitting on my ankles for too long, but I stood up, and my feet were completely numb, which was an amazing feeling. I was like, ok, that’s a truthful feeling, where you get the rug pulled out from under you, that kind of out-of-body experience. And by the end of the scene, I was so emotional that I was tingling all over, I was buzzing. So, the truthfulness of the emotion, when I look at him and he’s saying hurtful things to me, makes it very easy to access that. So it’s hard, but it’s also very rewarding, as an actor, because I know it’s not real, but it can feel very authentic.”
It adds real resonance to this scene to know that Catherine Rainville’s Cordelia is matched with her actual father as King Lear, distinguished stage veteran Paul Rainville. But this is no gimmick. The presence of not just two, but three Rainvilles in this season’s company came about organically, and their real-life chemistry is a bonus.
Simon Rainville, Catherine’s brother, is well-known to local audiences, having been part of this company for six seasons now. He may be best known for what is probably the most beloved character in SBTS history: Sven, one of Robin Hood’s Merry Men in 2011’s popular family show. “People want him back in every show. I’d play Sven for the rest of my life, that part is so much fun”, says Simon. As much as fans might want that, Simon is also a talented dramatic actor, and he’ll be taking on the very meaty role of Edgar in King Lear. Two years ago, he got to tackle some intense scenes opposite his father in SBTS’s Merchant of Venice. That was the first step toward this summer’s abundance of Rainvilles, nurtured by Co-Artistic Director Elizabeth Murphy.
Simon Rainville as Edgar
Paul says, “It was when we were doing Merchant that Elizabeth, who’s an old friend…she and I, over dinner, and probably a bottle of gin, hatched the idea. I think she came up with the idea, she’d always wanted to do Lear, and she said, what an opportunity, and we can get Catherine out to play Cordelia. So, it sat there steeping as an idea for two years, and this year she said no, we’re gonna go ahead, we’re gonna do it.”
This is the first time SBTS have staged King Lear in nearly two decades. The last time, in 1999, was a site-specific production mounted at the Citadel, and made full use of the moats and battlements. On the September night that I was in the audience, storm clouds and high winds upped the drama, as Lear stood atop the wall, raging madly into the wind, his robes swirling around him. But as much as that was a memorable spectacle, it defused some of the emotional intimacy of the play. Lear is one of Shakespeare’s most iconic dramas, following the downfall of two families; it’s at its best when attention is focused on the relationship dynamics of its tragic characters. This production may just top the last one in that regard. Certainly, my preview was very promising.
Paul grins when I ask him about taking on the complexity of Lear. “Late in my career, I’ve gotten to play some really great parts. Shylock was greater than I’d ever imagined, to dive in and learn the play from the inside out. And Lear is the same thing, it just keeps revealing itself to me. Lear and Cordelia are too much alike. There’s an antipathy that comes out of that likeness, they lock horns, too easily. He calls it pride, in her, but he has that same pride. It’s a very arrogant thing that he tries to do. I mean, he doesn’t think it’s arrogant, he thinks he’s being kind.” He pauses. “On a human level, we’re dealing with family members who are experiencing dementia. And that’s what he’s living through. There’s madness involved. For the other girls, they’re dealing with a parent who’s losing it. What it brings out in them is awful.”
Catherine adds, “But it’s amazing to see what happens to people who are losing somebody, what happens to families.” Paul nods and continues, “And the beauty of the relationship with Cordelia is, as much as they fight, in his heart, he knows what she’s made of. He wanted to make her queen, essentially. So when we come together again, when we reunite, and things are mended somewhat, it’s just…it’s very rich territory.”
Catherine Rainville as Cordelia, Paul Rainville as Lear
So what about that painful relationship between Lear and Cordelia? Was that difficult for Paul? “No, it was easier. Because of the intimate knowledge that we have as a family, there’s a certain vocabulary that already exists, that we don’t even know about, the emotional connection that we have, so if anything, there’s an overabundance of material that you have to check, so that you’re not weeping all the time, because you know where it’s going. But there’s a certain license too, that I know I can overstep certain bounds with both these guys, and they’ll just take it, because they know it’s acting, it’s not the way I really feel.”
It’s obvious from their off-stage chemistry that the Rainvilles are a very close family. They laugh and joke easily with each other, and the bond of shared experience seems genuinely sweet for all of them. Simon and Catherine share stories about how their father inspired their relatively young careers, and all three give props to wife and mother Syd for providing unwavering emotional support. As Paul explains, “I got to say to them the other night, that I never dreamt that we’d be sitting around the kitchen in my son’s house and talking about the work that we do, that we ALL do.” He looks over at his children and smiles proudly. “So sharing this life with them? It’s one thing I never would have dreamed of.”
Summers are short in Halifax, and so is the SBTS season. If you haven’t managed to see at least one…and preferably all three…of this season’s offerings, pack a picnic and get thee to the park before the end of August! You can check the schedule here, and follow Shakespeare By The Sea on Twitter and Facebook to make sure you don’t miss any news. (You might even win reserved Sweet Seats!) And whatever you do, don’t miss King Lear. You’ll regret it later, when everyone is talking about this production for years to come.
King Lear opens Friday, August 5th at 7pm. You can find out more about the 2016 season in our preview. All photos copyright Shakespeare By The Sea. Featured image at top of page (L-R): Simon, Catherine and Paul Rainville.
