"L. YRA S." (directed by Greta Štiormer, author of the play Gabrielė Labanauskaitė) is a modern poetic interpretation of V. Shakespeare's "King Lear", in which the main character is shown in his early youth (18 years old). Although the nuances of the story and plot of V. Shakespeare's tragedy are taken into account, this work is an attempt to look at the search for the identity of a modern person through a different prism - when the appearance and image are more trusted than internal landmarks and values. It is an unusual and innovative interpretation of the classics, which includes not only Shakespeare's classic tragedy, but also a modern supplement to its content, the innovative decision of the playwright Gabriele Labanauskaitė to turn her gaze to the youth of King Lear, through which the problems of today are revealed. They are shown through the conflict between generational differences and the duality of human personality. The material stands out for its cinematography, which allows the drama to be interpreted using a wide field of media - the action is not solved in the usual psychological way, but through the change of media, the mixing of genres - the synthesis of music, video material, acting.
The play shows Lear's prehistory, guesses why he became the way we know him from V. Shakespeare's play, why does he trust the outside of things more than the inside? Or maybe he had that charge of mistrust from the beginning...
The detective line is also very important here - the main intrigue lies in the murder, trying to find out who the murderer is. In G. Labanauskaitė's interpretation, it is then that Lear becomes as we know him from V. Shakespeare's play. Merlina prophesies a story, and it unknowingly begins to come true…
According to the director, two themes are most important here: firstly, the theme of toxic masculinity. From an early age, Lyr is taught what kind of man he should be: shoot and catch, have a female, have children... However, his nature is completely different, and he has to overcome a number of challenges, struggling with the search for identity and his place in the kingdom.
And the most important thing here is the topic of self-loathing and parenting through loathing. "I thought it was important to emphasize that the dislike in the family is later transferred to the environment, it spreads like a contagion or poison, that dislike increases, and together with it - inevitable tragedies," says the director. G. Štiormer.
According to playwright Gabrielė Labanauskaitė, she was interested to know how William Shakespeare's "Lyr", who believed his daughters' words about love with his ears and not his heart, would be like nowadays. Maybe that's why music and musicality will be especially important not only in the play, but also in the performance - for words, feelings, subtexts.
