Spend an evening with King Lear, a sprawling portrait of family, loyalty, leadership, and failure. 

Known for its so-called redemption arc, we’ll be investigating the grey areas of accountability and the relationship between gender and patriarchy, asking whether any individual is free from systemic oppression – even when that very system bestows power upon them.

Heavy stuff, we know. 

But there is redemption in this play: like any of Shakespeare’s works, there are bright glowing moments of humor and heart (not to mention soaring passages of poetry) that help us face the horrors while carving out space, tooth and nail, for humanity. We may even find our own salvation simply by engaging in the curiosity and imagination of storytelling.

Our process will likewise focus on exploration and curiosity more than polish and performance. This cast, made up of both local and NYC-based actors, will spend the day building ensemble, analyzing text, and finding a structure for this piece, until we open the doors to you, our audience, and the most important part of any theatrical venture.

This project is a co-production of Cadent Shakespeare Co. and Junkyard Shakespeare, and features Mark Dean, Hilary Dennis, Leslie Field, Kaileela Hobby, Ximena Salmeron, Tom Shane, Will Swyers, Dan Wilson, and Sarah Corbyn Woolf.