Home / What's on/ King Lear

King Lear

One performer with a pair of yellow rainboots is jumping into the large sheet of blue plastic as if diving into the ocean. Water is splattering from the plastic. In the middle stands a performer looking at the abyss

17th May 2012

King Lear, Shakespeare’s great play about speaking the truth was one of the highlights of 2012’s Globe to Globe Festival (part of the World Shakespeare Festival, itself part of the 2012 Cultural Olympiad).

Drawing on their first-hand experience of tyranny and exile, BFT premiered a fresh reading of the text drawing parallels between Lear’s spiralling court and Belarusian society, whilst also interrogating the universality of power unwisely yielded.

A stripped-back set and BFT’s characteristically arresting visual style made this a vigorous and thoroughly contemporary Lear.

Watch a clip of Belarus Free Theatre’s production of King Lear here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03bcp4p

“This not-to-be-missed King Lear that feels like a great howl of rage suffused with mortality and absurdity…If you’ve seen these Belarusians before, you’ll already know they are the real deal: artists who have paid such a steep personal price to pursue their calling that high dramatic stakes come with preternatural ease”

The Chicago Tribune, 7 February 2016

Gallery

Four performers with head masks and white vest carrying another performer. While being carried in her tight strapless dress, half of her torso is revealed
On the left-hand side, one performer is on a wheelchair reading something from a brown piece of paper. Between his legs, a stream of water is shooting out and another performer on the right-hand side is catching that stream of water with a mint coloured bucket.
One performer witha a green beanie is lying on the ground with legs up and holding a cigarette. Another performer carrying a performer in black striped suit is bent down right on top of the performer lying down. Both of them are shouting at the performer with a cigarette.
Close up to the performer giving piggyback ride. The one getting the ride is now without the jacket and is holding a bible, desperately holding onto the one giving the ride.
One performer is standing in the middle with a gauntlet on the right hand. On his front and back, two performers with fury coat are hanging on his shoulders with their arms wrapped around.
The performer with a gauntlet on the right hand is pointing at something in front and shouting. Behind him, there is a wave made out of large blue sheet of plastic. Other performers are shaking every end of the plastic to create the wavy effect.
One performer with a pair of yellow rainboots is jumping into the large sheet of blue plastic as if diving into the ocean. Water is splattering from the plastic. In the middle stands a performer looking at the abyss
Four performers are naked and are lying one the floor under the blue sheet of plastic. One of them has a gauntlet on the right hand and is talking to the others while sitting sideways. The naked performer on the left has a tattoo on his back that reads "King Lear" with a crown symbol and a drawing of a middle finger out.
The performer with a gauntlet on the right hand is knelt down and is cracking an egg with his forehead. The egg yolk is splashing everywhere.
Two performers are on a large sheet of red plastic. One is lying down with arms spread out, wearing a black eye patch. The other one is on top of that performer, pushing her neck with his palm.
Previous Slide
Next Slide
Follow us on facebook Follow us on twitter Follow us on instagram Follow us on youtube Follow us on amazon Follow us on patreon

Belarus Free Theatre will use the information you provide on this form to be in touch with you and to send you our newsletter.

You can change your mind at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link in the footer of any email you receive from us, or by contacting us at info@belarusfreetheatre.com. We will treat your information with respect. For more information about please view our privacy policy. By clicking below, you agree that we may process your information in accordance with these terms.

We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By clicking below to subscribe, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing. Learn more about Mailchimp’s privacy practices here.

Thank you for subscribing!