Kean

Jean Paul Sartre’s play is based on the magnetic nineteenth century actor, Edmund Kean. As the play opens, Kean is at the top of his profession. He is also perilously in debt and bitterly aware that he is considered a déclassé vulgarian by society. His tumultuous affair with the Countess Elena de Koefeld comes to a dramatic climax during a performance of Othello. Distraught by the sight of Elena’s apparent betrayal with the Prince of Wales, Kean tears through the veil of theatrical illusion to berate the Prince in Othello’s words. Finding his own despair no match for Othello’s grand passion, Kean grows skeptical of the authenticity of his own feeling after so skillfully pretending the emotions of others for so long.
This production is part of Shakespeare Santa Cruz.