Lost Lear
The Center for Irish Studies at Villanova University presents the North American premiere of Lost Lear, a criticlly acclaimed contemporary reimagining of Shakespeare’s King Lear, at the Mullen Center for Permorning Arts, Feb. 13 - 15, 2025. The play 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.
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.
