For any lover of English literature, Shakespeare is always an exciting reason to venture into unknown areas of the language. You can criticize him, but even after centuries his grip on theater and art cannot loosen.
In a moving, poignant, modern adaptation of King Lear, One of the Bard’s most famous tragedies, nothing like learShows the relationship between a father and his daughters from a slightly different perspective. Starring Vinay Pathak in the role of the clown, Rajat Kapoor, who directs the play, has made the narrative universal and contemporary.
in a frank conversation with The HinduVinay talks about his love for drama, acting, his experiments with Shakespeare and his love for theatre. Vinay believes King Lear One of Shakespeare’s greatest and finest plays, it can be adapted into many beautiful forms. “It’s a story about a king and his three daughters. When he retires, he tests his daughters’ love. There’s betrayal, loyalty and the family drama that follows. It’s perfect to portray on stage because it has something for everyone.”
“Ours is a modern adaptation of the play,” he adds, “Rajat and I have created this adaptation to look at the relationship between a father and a daughter; not just how it was in Elizabethan times, but also with today’s generation. Not just in royal families, but in the lives of the common man. What Lear means, what patriarchy means, can be explored beautifully with this adaptation, and we’ve been a little cheeky with it.”
nothing like lear Explores the relationship between a father and his daughters. Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Vinay believes that such a one-man performance is not easy as the actor is alone on the stage. “This format is a little difficult because if you forget lines, there’s no one to tell you or coax you into it. It’s a little scary, but challenging and exciting at the same time. You use all the faculties at your disposal, scale it, and it becomes the indulgence of the actors,” he says.
Is comedy difficult? He answers. “Every part of acting is hard, but if you enjoy it, it becomes easier. I have two daughters, and I bring the passion and compassion I feel towards them into my performances. I know a lot of people get a lot of emotions from their personal lives, and reflect them in their respective actions.”
Vinay says that theater is probably the best medium for an actor to explore a variety of emotions. “Theatre is a lot of physical effort. It involves rehearsals and you need hours of practice, discipline and rigor to perfect this art. In the end, when the end result is on the stage for people to see, it is pure joy. That’s when you feel what you are doing is worth it.”
The conversation turns to Shakespeare and his strong hold on theater and literature even today. Vinay says, “Shakespeare is always relevant and relevant. His stories still ring true; they are modern and have a wide range. I have seen Shakespeare in Gujarati, Hindi and English and he is a writer who transcends boundaries, language, ethnicity and religion. It is a pleasure to watch his plays and be a part of them.”
nothing like lear First staged in 2012, and has close to 200th show. , Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
nothing like lear The Joker motif is used in this adaptation. Vinay believes that Joker is a pure interpretation of human emotions. “It’s not just laughter and sadness, it’s a series Navras (emotions). A clown’s spirit is as pure as it gets.”
He further says, in all Shakespeare’s plays there is always a fool. “There’s one in Lear too. We bring the fool in, we let him indulge and build a world around him. I interact with so many people and so many characters. Lear hasn’t been interpreted like this before,” he adds.
nothing like lear First staged in 2012, and has close to 200th show. Vinay believes that it touches people emotionally and aesthetically.
nothing like lear It will be staged at the Bengaluru Theater Festival on December 6 at 7 pm at the Good Shepherd Auditorium, Bengaluru. tickets available bookmyshow,
published – December 03, 2025 06:37 PM IST