CTC will perform 2 works by Shakespeare next year

King Lear and Love's Labour's Lost both set to be performed in updated versions.

"The Dark and Light side of Shakespeare," as it's being touted will immerse Calvin's campus in two of the Bard of Avon's works.

King Lear, one of Shakespeare's most famous tragedies, will be staged during the Fall 2015 semester, while Love's Labour's Lost, a comedy that doesn't see productions quite as often, will grace the Gezon stage during the Spring semester.

Oddly enough, while it's been nearly forty years since Calvin has mounted a production of Lear, Love's Labour's Lost was produced in 1990, by the then-named Calvin College Thespians. "It was a terrific show to be involved in," says Jonathan Laughlin, who was in the cast in 1990 and now works in the college's Communications and Marketing division. "While you can definitely see why history has favored other comedies like Twelfth Night or A Midsummer Night's Dream, Love's Labour's has some extremely memorable characters and touches on some of Shakespeare's common themes, like the need for love and the folly of human beings who place too much importance on their own intelligence.

"And Lear? My goodness. Lear's Fool has always been one of my dream roles."