KING LEAR to Herd Sheep in New Adaptation at the Courtyard Theater

KING LEAR, played by Alasdair Saksena, will be joined onstage by nine sheep in a new adaptation of the Shakespearean classic, August 12-16, 2015 at the Courtyard Theater in London.

The New York Times writes that KING LEAR WITH SHEEP first took the stage at a warehouse in London last summer, followed by a production at a farm in Sussex, before its staging in Hoxton.

Saksena wrote in an email to the Times that his animal co-stars are "remarkably punctual and calm."

Writer/director Heather Williams (pen name Missouri Williams) told the Times she "wanted to use the idea of non-cooperative actors to explore the themes of 'King Lear' itself. Because Cordelia's an actor who refuses to act." Cordelia is the lone daughter who refuses to flatter King Lear and is disowned because of it.

The official description of the show reads, "A stubborn director is trying to put on a production of King Lear with a cast composed solely of sheep. As expected, his actors are both silent and mutinous. Much chaos ensues. King Lear with Sheep is an experimental re-evaluation of its famous predecessor that overturns theatrical conventions through the startling and revolutionary device of costumed sheep. Sheep! In tiny costumes!"

For tickets and more, visit www.thecourtyard.org.uk/whatson/588/king-lear-with-sheep.