THE CENTER FOR IRISH STUDIES PRESENTS
The North American premier of
"LOST LEAR"
Directed by: Dan Colley, with the company, after Shakespeare | Written by: Dan Colley
February 13, 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. | February 14, 7 p.m. | February 15, 7 p.m.
Topper Theater of The John and Joan Mullen Center for Performing Arts
Discounted tickets for seniors, students, faculty and staff are available through the box office. Special discounts are available for groups, Continuing Care Retirement Communities and other community partners. For more information, please contact Danielle Redden.
“Who is it that can tell me who I am?”
— King Lear, Act I Scene IV
Lost Lear tells the story of Joy, a retired actor with dementia, who is reliving her memories of rehearsing the Shakespearean tragedy. A nursing home resident, Joy is cared for by staff who recreate her happy memories to maintain a delicate sense of reality. However, her world is upended by the arrival of her estranged son. With Joy’s memory casting him as the character of Cordelia from the play, he must find a way to speak his piece within the limited role he is given.
About the Production
Written by Dublin-based Dan Colley and Company and developed in collaboration with the Alzheimer Society of Ireland, Lost Lear aims to enhance accessibility and engagement for people living with dementia. It combines puppetry, projection and live video effects to create an immersive theatrical experience, inviting the audience to step into Joy’s world as layers of her past and present, fiction and reality, overlap and distort. Lost Lear has captivated audiences across Ireland and New Zealand, offering a thought-provoking exploration of memory, dementia and the unconventional possibilities of human communication.
“A theatrical tour de force that bravely visits painful places to tenderly illuminate them.”
– The Arts Review (Ireland)
Co-sponsored by Visting Angels Senior Home Care.