Songs of Lear depicts a world of subtle energies and rhythms that govern Shakespeare’s tragedy. The company has chosen crucial scenes from King Lear to weave a story out of gestures, words and music. Each song is a starting point for a 'dramatic poem.' Here, it is the music that becomes characters, relationships, and events.
Alice de Cent who reviewed the troupe's performance for the internet magazine fringeguru.com presented the production with 5 stars, and stated that
Song Of The Goat create soaring and emotional soundscapes that evoke the spirit of the story of Lear, address the play’s themes, and do not shy away from the play’s harsher and tragic aspects.
De Cent placed emphasis on the way Song of The Goat use song to captivate the audience's imagination and wrote that "With piecing vocals and soothing harmonies, it is impossible not to get caught up in the story the performers weave for the audience.", calling it a magical theatre.
Songs of Lear has been shortlisted for the 2012 Total Theatre Award in the Physical/Visual Theatre category, together with three other productions of the Polska Arts programme: Caeserian Section. Essays on Suicide by Teatr ZAR, The Blind by KTO Theatre, and Teatr Biuro Podróży's Planet Lem.
An award-winning company that tours internationally, Song of the Goat Theatre (Teatr Pieśni Kozła) has been hailed the most exciting and innovative new avant-garde theatre movement in Poland.
It was founded in Wrocław between 1996 and 1997 by Grzegorz Bral and Anna Zubrzycka. The group's interest is mainly rooted in the tradition and culture of various performaning arts, especially in terms of the musical aspects of these traditions. The company’s work also encompasses anthropological studies and expeditions (Greece, Albania, Taiwan) and the group's members frequently conduct actor workshops. Training focuses above all on voice exercises, while the technique of acting and physical coordination are taught by Grzegorz Bral. Song of the Goat Theatre is the only alternative theatre company in Poland (and one of only two such companies in Europe), that holds a postgraduate study programme allowing actors to obtain a Master of Arts degree.
12-24 Aug at 7:15 pm
Summerhall (venue 26), Main Hall / 1 Summerhall (EH9 1PL)
Tickets: £11/£9
Preview: 12 Aug at 7:15 pm / £7
Box office: 0845 874 3001
Language: English
Duration: 70 min
Age restrictions: 16+