EXIT, PURSUED BY A BEAR

The Winter’s Tale – retold from the perspective of the Bear

It was only a winter’s tale. Leontes was just a jealous guy. It was obvious that this was going to happen time after time. His best friend, then his son, then his wife slip beyond the level of Leontes’ dreams. He banishes what he believes to be his bastard daughter in despair, at which point Shakespeare brings the play to a screeching halt. But it’s only Act Three. What’s next, and why?

For five acts, Shakespeare requires his audience to be willing to be led beyond the usual limits of encounter. We rewind and watch the same scenes unfold. The queen decides she’ll queen it no further – but can restoration or resolution take place in the dream world of Bohemia?

The answers may lie beyond language in Shakespeare’s gestures towards movement, repetition, and transgression of boundaries in Pan Pan’s response to The Winter’s Tale.

Exit, Pursued By A Bear is Pan Pan’s sixth version of a Shakespeare text, following internationally acclaimed productions of Mac-Beth7, The Rehearsal: Playing the Dane, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Everyone is King Lear in His Own Home, Der Sturm [The Tempest])|