King Lear at Chicago Shakespeare Theater

Chicago Tribune - Highly Recommended

"...But I found myself enthralled by this take, or takedown, overwhelmed by the force of its determination to show that nothing ever comes of a dictatorial nothing, and its revelation of how characters like the ancient Gloucester (Pavel Radak-Haradnitski) get caught up in a powerful family's squabbles. This is a "Lear" that constantly strips away artifice, revealing all the tacky jiggles and flops of nudity and the doomed flailing around of those caught in the grip of a man who answers to no one but himself. Men like Lear are all the more dangerous when their powers are threatened. These actors have a real-life sense of that particular truth."

Chicago Reader - Recommended

"...The Belarus Free Theater's King Lear is visually inventive, endlessly stunning, and authentically great. As performed at Chicago Shakespeare Theater under the direction of Vladimir Shcherban-whose approach is at once wryly Beckettian yet full of a very un-Beckett-like exuberance-the production uses a trunkful of dirt to demystify the land wealth at the center of the conflict between Lear and his daughters, Slavic folk tunes to give that conflict a deep tribal resonance, and an exquisite, nestlike crown to tell us all we need to know about kingship and paternity."

Chicago On the Aisle - Recommended

"...But it is a very fine ensemble of actors, and there are two scenes in particular that are memorable: In the staging of Lear’s howling into the storm, the entire cast whips a plastic tarp into a fury that threatens, surrounds and engulfs the king in his increasing madness. And toward the end of the play, when Lear and his youngest daughter have been imprisoned, the other “children” of Lear’s misbegotten regime turn murderously competitive, to capture the largest possible share of the tyrant’s spoils."

ChicagoCritic - Recommended

"...Not everything in the show is abject or grotesque, and the parts which are mostly have strong justifications rooted in this very distinctive company's vision. The Belarus Free Theatre's King Lear is designed to make audiences uncomfortable, and perhaps is not the ideal introduction to the text (although simply reading it beforehand should provide sufficient context for understanding Shcherban's invoking of it). But it is a unique experience, and though the actors speak a language that is uncommon even in their home country, their voices are strong, and they are clear masters of their craft."

Chicago Stage and Screen - Recommended

"...This ugly King Lear is not without its beautiful moments. Director/designer Vladimir Shcherban creates the most powerful staging of the storm scene that I've ever seen. A large, blue piece of tarp that the actors shake while they sing a traditional folk song and a bucket of water is all that's needed to knock you out: economy, poetry and rage. In a society that has no freedom, they seem to suggest, even beauty must be painful."