King Lear to be staged at Riverbank for schools in Kildare and further afield

The Riverbank Arts Centre brings plays to life from the secondary school curriculum and this year is no different.

Kildare Youth Theatre presents King Lear on Wednesday May 8 and Thursday 9 May at 11am. Admission is €5. This is a schools’ event.

The play highlights how the government of one of the most powerful nations in the world is on the edge of collapse.

An autocrat, driven by vanity, pride, and losing his grip on reality, charts a path which will have consequences for generations to come.

Unwilling to heed those brave enough to speak the truth, his power soon falls to ambitious and avaricious political insiders.

Lost in the fray are two young voices calling for those in control to look beyond themselves and see the damage they are wreaking.

Shakespeare’s King Lear is as resonant and relevant today as it was in its first staging over 400 years ago. It carries an important and timely reminder that we place self-interest and self-promotion above integrity and honesty at a devastating cost.

In a contemporary “Shakespeare-meets-Succession” approach Kildare Youth Theatre has built an ensemble production that seeks to centre the voices Lear himself ignores – the generation which will be left to carry on.

This production continues the long Kildare Youth Theatre tradition of working with young people who come from schools across all Kildare, in presenting dynamic productions of the timeless work of William Shakespeare.

This production is directed by John O’ Hagan and assisted by Carmen Ortiz Victorino.

John is a director, actor and lecturer in theatre from the USA, and Carmen is studying theatre directing in Maynooth University.

To find out more about this school event or to make a booking for your class, contact Theresa [email protected]