Riverside Shakespeare Company
In 1985 the Riverside Shakespeare Company presented the New York premiere of "The History of King Lear", adapted with a happy ending by 18th-century English Poet Laureate, Nahum Tate, from William Shakespeare's "King Lear". The production was directed by W. Stuart McDowell, produced by Andrew B. Harris, who had joined Riverside as its executive director at the beginning of the season.
Nawar Boulboul
In 2011, as a result of his playwrighting and directing work and because of his participation in protests against the Al-Assad government, Bulbul was forced to relocate to Jordan. In 2014 he began working with children in the Zaatari refugee camp in Mashraq, Jordan, where he directed approximately 100 young actors in an adaptation of Shakespeare's "King Lear". This work attracted the attention of the international press and the UNHCR. In an interview with the New York Times on March 31, 2014, Bulbul explained, "The show is to bring back laughter, joy and humanity."