FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Glass Mind Theatre Founder returns to Baltimore to direct a Lear focused on family and mortality
Baltimore, MD – Single Carrot is thrilled to welcome director Andrew Peters back to Baltimore to helm its October production of Young Jean Lee’s Lear. Lee’s adaptation of Shakespeare’s King Lear is a challenging mix of postmodern satire, meditative exploration, and nuanced relationships. For Peters, these interpersonal conflicts are some of the most fruitful artistically.
“The relationship between Lear and his daughters [in Shakespeare’s text] is so incredibly complicated,” he states. “We expect to see the madness, but we realize we are watching children cast off their father. It’s heartbreaking. Young Jean Lee’s Lear amps this up; we only see the young people of this world, confronting and accepting mortality, doing whatever that can NOT to think about Dad. And this comes back to bite them in the ass. Hard.”
He adds that the show is also particularly relevant “at a volatile moment in our history,”
drawing parallels between Lee’s characters and the contemporary reality of “families in
turmoil.”
“I feel the heartbeat of this play so strongly when I think of those relationships,” Peters
muses. “At some point in our lives we recognize that our parents are human beings. When have we wanted to throw them into ‘the storm’?”
But, he is quick to point out, while Lear’s themes are weighty, it is far from a dramatic,
existential meditation. “We watch these people within the frame of a specific world,” he
says. “We recognize how absurd they are, want to grab the popcorn and watch the
trainwreck unfold. But there’s a big turn. A lot of the rules of this world get broken and,
suddenly, we have to take a step back. Everyone in the room needs to, in some way,
participate in a meditation on mortality. This isn’t just about King Lear and his daughters. It’s about our relationship to our own families.”
Andrew Peters founded Glass Mind Theatre in 2009 and served as its Artistic Director for four years. He has directed numerous productions in Baltimore, DC, and Chicago, where he worked at DePaul University and Victory Gardens Theatre. He holds an MFA in Directing from The Theatre School at DePaul University, as well as a BS from Towson University. Peters will also be teaching at Stevenson University this fall.
Lear
By Young Jean Lee
Directed by Andrew Peters
Shakespearean drama meets millennial self-indulgence in this outlandish and driving take on King Lear. Boring, stuffy parents have been left for dead – consigning audiences to the not-so-tender mercies of a younger generation, a mix of heroes and villains indulging their own selfish whims. Despite sharp wits and sharper teeth, these Kardashian-esque kids are comically shallow, callous, and vain: more concerned with dancing and drama than their own doomed parents. But superficial pleasures can only reign for so long before their conscience catches up with them, unearthing ugly secrets, doubts, and fears. Regional premiere.
WHEN:
Previews: Wednesday, October 4 and Thursday, October 5 at 8pm
Running: October 6 – 29
Thursday- Saturday at 8pm
Sundays at 3pm
WHERE:
Single Carrot Theatre
2600 N. Howard Street
Baltimore, MD 21218
Entrance on 26th Street.
Free parking available in adjacent lot and on the street.
TICKETS AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Tickets: $10-$29
Web: singlecarrot.com
Phone: 443-844-9253
Email: boxoffice@singlecarrot.com
Twitter: @singlecarrot
Instagram: @singlecarrot