Cal Shakes' Philippa Kelly reads from her book "The King and I"

The King and I (Continuum, 2011) offers a unique personal meditation on contemporary Australian life as Philippa Kelly, resident dramaturg of , tells her own story through the prism of Shakespeare’s King Lear. Outlaws, irreverent humorists, political underdogs, authoritarians . . . these are the images of Australians as revealed through the lens of Kelly’s take on Lear.

Starting in the 1970s, the advent of Australian films on U.S. shores and the decreasing cost of air travel led to a growing curiosity about the country and a wish to understand its “narrative.” Because this narrative comes of people creating culture and society where no laws were believed to have existed, the idea of authority is fundamental, and King Lear emerges in an astonishing variety of contexts as Kelly considers the play as a filter for the complex question of what it means to be Australian. The King and I moves from 1976 to 2010, taking moments in a personal history to explore, through the lens of King Lear, themes of authority, indigenous identity, feminism, and political injustice and unrest.

The King and I is one in a series of short books, Shakespeare Now!, that engage imaginatively with Shakespeare’s plays. It goes back to the source – the most living language imaginable – and recaptures the excitement, audacity and surprise of Shakespeare. The General Editors write: “It will return you to the plays with opened eyes.”

 is presenting  through July 31, George Bernard Shaw's Candida Aug. 10-Sept. 4 and The Taming of the Shrew Sept. 21-Oct. 16.

Read her Cal Shakes blog here.

Wednesday's free event is part of the .