Family drama, with crowns: Lexington’s On the Verge presents ‘Lion in Winter’

There are three things that have to come together for On the Verge theater to put on a show: The play, the actors, and the location.

“If any one of those is not as it should be or solid or compelling, it’s not worth the effort,” said Ave Lawyer, founder and director of the location-specific theater troupe.

While most theaters work to create a variety of locations on their stages, On the Verge makes locations into theaters. Since 2008, the theater has presented shows in several Lexington-area historic homes (“The Little Foxes,” “The Cherry Orchard,” and more), a funeral home (“Three Viewings”), a boutique (“Love, Loss, and What I Wore”), and others. The format has meant a mercurial production schedule for On the Verge, which opens only its second production since the COVID-19 pandemic this weekend.

This time Luigart Studios, near the intersection of North Limestone and East Loudon Avenue, is serving as the palace of King Henry II in “The Lion in Winter,” a family drama focused on the battle over who will be the next king of England. Though originally set in the 12th century, this production has a contemporary look complete with video game showdowns and cringey selfies.

“It’s a great vibe,” Lawyer said of the former hemp warehouse that is now the home to 14 Lexington artists’ studios. “It’s a very unusual space. Every time we go somewhere, we essentially create our own theater, and that’s what we’re doing right now.”

The main floor has been converted into a labyrinth of sets including several bedrooms, a grand living room, and even a lower-level dungeon. Audiences of approximately 30 people a performance will be ushered from scene to scene watching the drama play out from church pews and other seating.

“Our whole brand is predicated on intimate contact, close up,” Lawyer says. “They’re not just passive spectators in the dark. You sit in your chair, and you sort of hopefully keep your mouth shut as an audience member, but you just feel present in a different way — fly on the wall kind of way.”

Kevin Hardesty, who plays Henry, sat on one of the audience pews and said, “literally, there’ll be an actor two and a half feet away. So, from the actor’s perspective, people are just right here.”

He compares the experience to film, noting that unlike traditional stage plays, touches like subtle glances and whispers can be noticed by the audience. While the play is nearly 60 years old, the story brings to mind a wildly popular 21st century series.

“It’s another ‘Succession,’ except they have crowns,” Missy Johnston, who plays Eleanor of Aquitaine, said referring to the acclaimed HBO series.

Eleanor is Henry’s estranged wife, and as they convene a family gathering for Christmas, they have very different ideas which of their three sons should be heir to the throne. The story, which Lawyer said she has always wanted to present, is well known thanks to the 1968 movie that won three Academy Awards, including Best Actress for Katherine Hepburn as Eleanor.

“It’s very hard not to think of Katherine Hepburn when you’re doing it,” Johnston said. “And I’ve tried to avoid that as much as possible. But, when I tell people I’m doing the show ... they go, ‘Oh, I love that movie: Katherine Hepburn and Peter O’Toole, so great.’”

The cast for this production, led by Hardesty and Johnston, is going to be as familiar to longtime local theater fans as the “Lion” movie cast was to film lovers in the ’60s. For Hardesty, his fellow actors are a big part of the appeal of doing the show.

“It’s a great cast. It’s a great script,” Hardesty said. “I just love the language in this piece. It’s got these grand sorts of Shakespearean themes, and the language is beautiful and bold, but a little easier to understand for the layman, than a Shakespeare play would be. So, the language, my fellow cast mates, and Ave — yeah.”

The total package.

On the Verge presents “The Lion in Winter”

When: Jan. 23-Feb. 3

Where: Luigart Studios, 110 Luigart Court in Lexington

Tickets: ontheverge.org