REVIEW: Deconstructed Songs of Lear Inspires At Chicago Shakespeare Through 9/18

ChiIL Live Shows on our radar: 

Songs of Lear

Short run! Drop everything and get down to Chicago Shakespeare Theater for Songs of Lear. Highly recommend.

Photo Credit for all: Anna Szczodrowska

From Poland, Song of the Goat Theatre's Songs of Lear, directed by Grzegorz Bral, featured at Chicago Shakespeare Theater as part of Shakespeare 400 Chicago, September 15–18, 2016. 

From Poland, Teatr Pieśń Kozła / Song of the Goat Theatre presents their ensemble-driven Songs of Lear, the highest-rated performance in the 2012 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Using gestures, words and music, the company explores the rhythms of Shakespeare’s King Lear at Chicago Shakespeare.

Don't miss this! We caught this truly unique performance on opening night, Thursday, at Chicago Shakespeare Theater where they were enthusiastically received with a well deserved standing ovation. They've come halfway around the world with their acclaimed, deconstructed, mostly a cappella Lear. Songs of Lear is only here for a short 4 day run. Highly recommended! 

When we heard the premise of the piece, we were quite excited to check it out. Inspired by the layout and theme at an art exhibit, the troupe decided to go with inspiration, improvisation, then structure to create a non linear production of Lear that breaks scenes down to the subtle energies and rhythms of the piece. Brief introductions to each scene are in English, the rest is universal and goes beyond words. Their sparse use of instrumentation makes the punctuating violin, drums and folk instruments even more powerful and effective. Songs of Lear is nothing short of astounding. 

Song of the Goat’s

Songs of Lear

September 15–18, 2016

The highest-rated performance in the 2012 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Songs of Lear is an ensemble-driven, constantly evolving original work that invites audiences to witness the fruition of an intimate artistic process. Using crucial scenes from King Lear, it weaves a story using gestures, words and music, exploring the subtle energies and beautiful rhythms that govern one of Shakespeare’s greatest tragedies. Through this musical exploration of the text, melody becomes the embodiment of character, relationships and drama. London’s The Guardian exclaims, it “seems to have already passed into legend even though it’s only a work in progress.” Sung in multiple languages, with interludes spoken in English.

Chicago is Bitten by the Bard Bug With Shakespeare 400 All Year

Last night we were thrilled to cover opening night of Chicago Shakespeare Theater's compelling modern adaptation of Othello. Earlier this week we were enamored with opening night of Gounod's opulent Romeo and Juliet at Lyric Opera. Check back with ChiIL Mama and ChiIL Live Shows for Shakespeare 400 news, reviews, and photo filled features all year long. 

From concerts to ballet, opera and theater, Chicago is bitten by the bard bug! Shows we are reviewing are in bold. This week, Harris Theater for Music and Dance presents the first dance performances of the festival: Hamburg Ballet’s Othello , while the Moor’s story also unfolds as a gripping psychological thriller at Chicago Shakespeare Theater. The world's most celebrated love story finds new dimension in Gounod's Romeo and Juliet at Lyric Opera, just as two concerts at Rockefeller Chapel explore popular styles of music from Shakespeare’s time. Looking to shake things up? A handful of tickets remain to catch (In) Complete Works: Table Top Shakespeare at the Museum of Contemporary Art this week. And there’s much more to come! In March, the UK’s Filter Theatre brings its rock-and-roll Twelfth Night to Chicago Shakespeare; Harvard Professor Michael Sandel hosts a lively town hall-style conversation; Gift Theatre performs its Richard III at Steppenwolf's Garage; and Logan Center for the Arts screens two masterful films of King Lear. Across our great city, with Shakespeare as their guide, the best international and Chicago talents remind us of life’s endless possibilities and the universality of the human condition. There’s so much to enjoy—come play your part! Follow the hashtag #ChiShakes400. Explore More More ChiIL Shots From ChiIL Mama's Adventures at Othello, Opening Night. Chicago Shakespeare Theater:

Paterson Joseph's Sancho upstairs at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre Through February 21

Chicago's all encompassing Shakespeare 400 celebration continues with Paterson Joseph's Sancho upstairs at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre.

Paterson Joseph is a superb storyteller. He brings Sancho to life in a revealing, poignant and funny show. 

The Public Reviews (UK)

Click here for tickets and full show details

Celebrated Royal Shakespeare Company actor Paterson Joseph (Julius Caesar, HBO’s The Leftovers) inhabits the curious, daringly determined life of Charles Ignatius Sancho—composer, social satirist, general man of refinement. Born on a slave ship but never a slave, immortalized by the great English painter Thomas Gainsborough, in 1774 Sancho became the first black person of African origin to vote in Britain. Among Sancho’s circle of friends was David Garrick, celebrated Shakespeare actor and theater owner. Sancho was a renowned man of letters and quotes Shakespeare in his numerous letters more than any other author. This endlessly revealing, often funny one-man show casts a new light on the often misunderstood narratives of African-British experience.