Stranded in the heat of a barren African desert, eleven bus passengers shelter in the elements of an abandoned town. As rescue grows more remote by the day and anxiety deepens, an idea emerges: why not stage a play. However the choice of King Lear only manages to plunge this disparate group of travellers into turmoil as they struggle to overcome both nature's wrath and their own mortality. In the heat of the desert, emotional and sexual tensions surge around the play's production, and they are forced to confront their most raw emotions. With all inhibitions stripped away, their individual fight for survival makes them perform the ultimate role in front of each other - their own lives.
The psychological horror film The King is Alive uses a bleak yet beautiful African landscape to tell a haunting tale of human weakness and survival. It was filmed on location at Kolmanskop which makes it personally interesting to me as I lived and worked in the nearby port town of Lüderitz in 1967/68 - click here.
Kolmanskop is still slowly dying; testimony to the vanity and futility of all human endeavours.
There you have it: the legend of King Lear, the story of a long-forgotten town, and an interesting movie to watch. Not bad for a bit of Sunday entertainment, is it?
Still feeling bored?
