EN
DE
IT
FR
ES
RU
JP
RO
© Reinhard Werner
King Lear
Order tickets
 June 2025 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mo | Tu | We | Th | Fr | Sa | Su |
KING LEAR by William Shakespeare
King Lear abdicates and decides to divide his kingdom among his three daughters. In return, he demands that they profess their love for him, which his youngest daughter, Cordelia, refuses to do—unlike Goneril and Regan. She is banished and disinherited by the enraged King Lear. The other two sisters, having received their share of the inheritance, then cast out their father. Betrayed and humiliated, Lear struggles against his downfall and descends into madness. Meanwhile, intrigues among the sons in the family of the royal advisor, Earl Gloucester, lead to an abyss.
Rafael Sanchez directs Shakespeare’s tragedy about the contentious nature of power and a man who cannot let it go.
Program and cast
A Production by Schauspiel Köln
Duration and Breaks: 3 hours 10 minutes - 1 intermission
Director: Rafael Sanchez
Set Design: Simeon Meier
Costumes: Ursula Leuenberger
Video Design: Nazgol Emami
Composition and Musical Arrangement: Pablo Giw
Lighting: Michael Frank
Dramaturgy: Stawrula Panagiotaki
Burgtheater
The stage of the Burgtheater is one of the biggest theatre stages in the world. The stage portal is 12m wide, the main stage is 28,5m wide, 23m deep and 28m high. At the opening in 1888 the stage technology was already innovatory and has been modernized on many occasions. During the reconstruction after World War II, which was accomplished in 1955, a stage equipment was installed that is still revolutionary today. The revolving stage consists of a rotating cylinder (15m high, 21m diameter) and four hydraulic lifts (12 x 4 m each). With the help of this technical features the scenery can be changed within 40 seconds. It is the biggest automatic and computer controlled stagesystem in Europe.
The Burgtheater auditorium holds 1175 seats, it has standing room for 84 visitors and 12 places for disabled visitors.
Apart from the stage-art the Burgtheater plays an important part in architecture and interior design of the 19th century in Vienna. The magnificent decoration, especially the two imperial staircases painted by Gustav Klimt, his brother Ernst Klimt and their companion Franz Matsch as well as the main foyer and the many statues, busts and paintings of famous writers and actors can be visited during our dailyguided tour.
Related events