‘King Lear’ — the musical — journeys from Poland to UC Berkeley
Poland's Song of the Goat Theatre brings its passionate "King Lear" song cycle to UC Berkeley May 11-12.
William Shakespeare’s plays have been adapted into pretty much every performing arts style imaginable, from ballet and opera to commedia and kabuki. So it’s not exactly a surprise that a troupe from Warsaw, Poland, has turned “King Lear” into a nonlinear song cycle incorporating Gregorian chant and Corsican folk music.
But it’s a treat to have it come all the way to Berkeley.
A dramatic oratorio mixing passionate choreography with haunting music, Song of the Goat Theatre’s “Songs of Lear” premiered at Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2012. Now Cal Performances brings it to UC Berkeley’s Zellerbach Hall for the West Coast premiere of the piece and the company’s Bay Area debut.
Song of the Goat Theatre has taken a similar approach to explore other works by Shakespeare, Chekhov and Euripides, and in fact this visit was originally going to also include a piece based on “Hamlet.”
The group’s name is taken from the etymology of the word “tragedy,” blending the ancient Greek words for “goat song.”
Details: 8 p.m. May 11, 3 p.m. May 12; Zellerbach Hall, UC Berkeley; $35; 510-642-9988, calperformances.org.