King Lear

We got the incredible opportunity to see King Lear performed in Ukrainian. In Stratford-Upon-Avon at “The Other Place” theatre, created and performed by Ukrainians displaced in the war. Apparently director Vyacheslav Yehorov saw parallels between the experience of the Ukrainian refugees and the themes of King Lear. We were told it would not be just classic Shakespeare King Lear performed in another language, but a looser interpretation that was a bit more like a performance art piece. The story was definitely different, with a cast of only five playing Lear, the fool, Cordelia, Goneril, and Regan. The rest of the characters—Gloucester, Edmund, Kent, all the husbands—were all omitted. So already the storyline is vastly changed. It also was in a language I cannot understand, save for a few words like their names and “King”. I knew the original story, but this one being changed I did not understand what was happening the whole time. I loved their performances, the Fool was my absolute favorite. The way she moved—crouched down, arms floating—was so interesting to see and worked perfectly for the role of the fool. I also really loved their headpiece, I want to wear it I loved their costume. They did a really great job conveying it even to non-Ukrainian speakers such as myself with the music and their acting. But either way it did not really matter. TI loved it, not because of the plot itself so much as the emotion you could feel coming from these actors. What the have been through and what so many others are being forced to go through is something I cannot imagine. The context of their circumstances and their reason for creating this show is what really powered this experience for me. Not to discredit their acting in any way, of course, I felt they all gave incredible performances. And they are not even trained actors, they were all in other professions in Ukraine I believe. But you would never know, they delivered it with such strength and passion it was so moving. What really got me though, and made me have to internally process for a while after, was not even the show itself. Once they were done and the cast and crew all came together for final bow, they seemed so grateful to the audience. They seemed to be clapping for us as we clapped for them and their performance. Seeing their faces and their reaction to us being there was so heartrending. While I can’t imagine their experiences that have brought them to this point, I am so grateful to have been able to experience that and share that with them. I hope that even though they have been through such a terrible and heartbreaking ordeal, and being separated from their country and people, theatre has helped them in some way to share their grievances and enlighten others like myself. I teared up at the end seeing them react to us. The actor who played Lear was particularly moved it seemed and he kept motioning out to the crowd, clapping for us and calling us to stand. Unnecessary in any performance, as we are there for them and their talent, but particularly given these circumstances it was something you couldn’t help but feel for them and their experiences these last few years. I am so grateful to them for creating this and sharing this with us, and I am so lucky to have been able to experience these one of only two shows they are putting on here. I feel so lucky to have been on this trip and see all these incredible shows!