Soviet Shakespeare: where the tragedy hits harder than the Siberian winter.
The story of King Lear is the tale of a man blinded by his own despotism, who, in his old age, faces the bitter truth of life for the first time.
Acting
Tsaryov's Lear descends into madness with terrifying conviction.
Direction
Heyfets strips the stage bare, forcing focus on raw performance.
Director
Leonid Heyfets
Mikhail Tsaryov
король Лир
Valentin Tkachenko
король Французский
Boris Klyuev
герцог Бургундский
Vitaliy Konyaev
герцог Корнуэльский
Viktor Bortsov
герцог Альбанский
Afanasi Kochetkov
граф Кент
Nikolai Annenkov
граф Глостер
Yaroslav Baryshev
Эдгар
Evgeniya Glushenko
Корделия
Aleksandr Goloborodko
Эдмунд
Viktor Pavlov
Шут
Muza Sedova
Гонерилья
Liliya Yudina
Регана
Sergey Konov
Куран
Aleksey Kudinovich
слуга Корнуола
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This Soviet TV adaptation emerged during Brezhnev's stagnation era, making Lear's collapse of authority eerily resonant for Russian audiences living under decaying state power.
The production famously used minimal sets due to television budget constraints, accidentally creating a stark aesthetic that amplifies the play's psychological horror—sometimes poverty births genius.
SU
