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April 24th, 2024

Diversions

The Continuing Crisis | Barnyard Theater

News of the Weird by Chuck Shepherd

By News of the Weird by Chuck Shepherd

Published Sept. 28, 2015

The Continuing Crisis | Barnyard Theater

One of the world's weirdest border disputes came to an end, as India and Bangladesh exchanged more than 160 "enclaves" --- sovereign territory completely surrounded by the other country's sovereign territory (in principle, making travel out of the enclaves impossible unless the enclave had an embassy or another office that issues visas). In fact, there was one Indian enclave (Dahala Khagrabari) completely within a Bangladeshi enclave that is completely inside an Indian enclave inside Bangladesh. [Washington Post, 8-1-2015]

British director Missouri Williams brought an adaptation of Shakespeare's "King Lear" to the London Courtyard art facility in August for a one-week run, centered on a human actor struggling to stage the play using only sheep. The pivotal character, Lear's daughter Cordelia, famously withholds flattering Lear (thus forgoing inheriting the kingdom), and her silence forever tortures Lear -- and of course silence is something sheep pull off well. Actor Alasdair Saksena admitted there is an "element of unpredictability with the sheep," but lauded their punctuality, calmness and lack of fee demands. Williams promised another Courtyard run for "King Lear With Sheep" in the fall. [New York Times, 8-11-2015; Islington Gazette, 8-12-2015]

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