Becoming Lear: Shakespearean adaptation and the memory of performance

Abstract

This article analyses the modalities in which a performance of Shakespeare's King Lear structures two late twentieth century plays, Thomas Bernhard's Minetti (1976) and Enzo Cormann's Storm Still (1997). It argues that the memory of a traumatic performance of Shakespeare's tragedy enables the protagonists of these plays – both ageing actors – to negotiate their relationship with painful memories and tell their story within what looks like a ‘surrogate’ performance of King Lear. The article also addresses the issue of the intertextual status of these dramatic works, arguing that they seem to announce more recent engagements with Shakespeare in stage performance.