A father disowns his child. And not just any father, but the titular Lear of Shakespeare’s play. Starting from the breakdown in communication between the king and his favourite daughter, Andrea Jiménez explores the complexity of intergenerational relationships, drawing on her own life story, in which she was forced to play the role of Cordelia. At each performance, she directs a different actor as he auditions for the role of King Lear, without prior rehearsal. With this device, she takes the audience through a cascade of emotions. In evoking the father figure – both biological and metaphorical – she reminds us all of our own pasts, and how we might free ourselves from them.

Hugues Le Tanneur