King Lear by Compagnia de’ Colombari Heads to Craiova International Shakespeare Festival

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Presented by Compagnia de’ Colombari, the production recently performed Off-Broadway earlier this year.

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King Lear will be presented by Compagnia de’ Colombari as part of the 2026 Craiova International Shakespeare Festival in Craiova, Romania.

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Following a successful world premiere at the International Festival of Arts & Ideas and a sold-out four-performance limited run in New York City in the summer of 2024, Compagnia de’ Colombari’s KING LEAR returned for an Off-Broadway run at La MaMa ETC at the Ellen Stewart Theatre (66 East 4th Street, New York, NY) for 16 performances from January 23-February 8, 2026. The production was acclaimed by critics and audiences alike.

Compagnia de’ Colombari’s KING LEAR is a primal, physical, and potent “paper crown” Lear that strips the Shakespearean classic to its essence. Coonrod utilizes her signature “multiplicity” to shift and deepen audiences’ connection with the characters. Ten diverse actors, ranging in age and gender, embody King Lear at the beginning and conduct a radical takeover of the text and space. Their unity fractures as they tear off their paper crowns and assume other roles, competing for influence and diminishing the legion of Lears. Through an exploration of the characters’ egos, motivations, and power dynamics, the actors delve deeply into the internal and external journey of a stubborn, fractured soul who must lose everything to find himself. Transformation takes place in the apocalypse. Coonrod’s immersive production commands us to, as Kent demands of King Lear, “See better.”

The cast includes: Abigail Killeen (KING LEAR/Goneril), Julian Elijah Martinez (KING LEAR/Edmund), Jo Mei (KING LEAR/Regan), Tom Nelis and David Barlow (KING LEAR/France), Abigail C. Onwunali and Nomè SiDone (KING LEAR/Edgar), Lukas Papenfusscline (KING LEAR/Fool), Michael Potts and KenYatta Rogers (KING LEAR/Gloucester), Paul Pryce (KING LEAR/Kent), Celeste Sena (KING LEAR/Cordelia), Tony Torn (KING LEAR/Oswald), Paul Wellington (Black Angel), Peter Gomez (Black Angel), Sasha Aronson (Black Angel) and Whitney Andrews (Understudy).

King Lear will be performed Wednesday, May 27, at 8PM and Thursday, May 28, at 7PM at Teatrul Colibri located at Calea București 56, 200515 Craiova, Romania. Tickets can be purchased at the Shakespeare Festival website.

The Festival runs for 11 days (May 21-31), with 450+ events in 60+ venues, transforming Craiova, Romania into an international stage where theatre, music, visual arts, and new technologies meet the living legacy of Shakespeare.

Compagnia de' Colombari is an international collective of performing artists, generating theater in surprising places for over 20 years under the vision of director Karin Coonrod . Colombari intentionally clashes cultures, traditions and art forms to bring fresh interpretations to the written word. It is founded on the twin principles that the magic of great theater can happen anywhere and be accessible to everyone. Colombari was born in Orvieto, Italy, in 2004, where the company re-imagined the medieval mystery plays and performed them in the streets and piazzas. The company launched a parallel theatrical experience at its NYC home base that same year.

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_Originally reported by [BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/off-broadway/article/Compagnia-de-Colombaris-KING-LEAR-To-Perform-at-Craiova-International-Shakespeare-Festival-20260509)._