Over 400 years after Shakespeare wrote “King Lear,” a theater production reimagines the story as one about the complexities of dementia.

Director Toby Vera Bercovici of Cleveland Heights, Ohio and Northampton created the play over the course of five years with her cast. At the center of Bercovici’s retelling is a lesbian couple and their three daughters grappling with early-onset Alzheimer’s.

“The idea for the project came simultaneously to deciding who it was that I wanted to work on it with,” Bercovici explained. “I’ve directed [‘King Lear’] before, but I realized that at the moment, it wasn’t interesting me so much, but what was interesting me was the way the two of them [actors Liz Stanton and Carolyn Goelzer] played Lear and the Fool, that relationship. And then the idea of losing one’s mind, or losing one’s memories, or losing one’s sense of identity, was very scary to me … as I think it is for many people, and the loss of the ego, the loss of the sense of self, like, what’s left? So I think initially, it was … ‘Lear’ is a good kind of container to explore this and to come face to face with that fear.”

Myka Plunkett, the actor playing the eldest daughter Gwendolyn (based off of Goneril, in “King Lear”), echoed this synopsis.

“Our inspiration point was an exploration of ‘King Lear’ … to see what seems timely and relevant. And what emerged from those explorations was a modern tale of a queer couple where the matriarch is dying of early onset Alzheimer’s,” Plunkett summarized. “And the three daughters serve as various forms of caregiver. And the youngest child has a drug addiction. So it tells a story of two different versions of mental escape, essentially.”

Bercovici clarified that prior knowledge of “King Lear” is not necessary to enjoy the show.

“The show is designed to be, hopefully, equally satisfying to someone who knows ‘King Lear’ or doesn’t know ‘King Lear,’” Bercovici said. She added that her play, entitled “When The Mind’s Free,” mirrors the plot of “King Lear,” but not the original’s subplots.

The play began as a piece of devised theater, a method of play creation in which actors collaboratively create the script, often through improvisation, Bercovici explained. Eventually, she did add to the script herself, and felt that she had gotten to know the characters so well through the play’s genesis that she could authentically write in their voices.

And while not technically a musical, music and dance play a large role in the play.

“Toby and Annelise [one of the actors and the choreographer] have a very long history of making pieces of theater that are not musicals, but are laced through with sound and dance. So I think it’s a really rare bird, the kind of plays they make,” Plunkett said. “And there’s something about the element of dance in these particular shows, that really gives the audience an extra way in. So if the Shakespeare text play doesn’t speak to you, or isn’t something that’s familiar to you, there’s all of this body-based storytelling laced throughout, and I think it’s wonderfully cathartic.”

With the two themes of addiction and dementia, Bercovici and the cast narrowed their focus on exploring caretaking. Bercovici was interested in the Buddhist idea of non-attachment, and its relationship to caregiving.

“There are certain outcomes that you have to be attached to, like making sure that someone eats, or drinks water … but there are other ways attachment to outcome is just going to bring misery to the caregiver and the person being cared for,” Bercovici said.

Bercovici emphasized that the play was created for caregivers of all sorts.

“We want and welcome everyone to see this show, but one of our key demographics … that we would love to see in the audience is caregivers. And that doesn’t need to be limited to caregivers of folks with dementia, it could be … caregivers in all kinds of arenas.”

Bercovici added that all of the shows will be followed with an opportunity for the community to discuss caregiving, and for individuals in the audience to share their experiences with caring.

This is why the group is particularly excited to be performing at the Northampton Senior Center, Bercovici said. The show will be free, which they hope will make it more accessible to all, and the Respite Room at the Senior Center will be staffed by professionals from Cooley Dickinson’s Pioneer Valley Memory Care Initiative, providing a space for those with dementia or cognitive challenges, while their caretakers watch the play. Bercovici clarified that those with dementia are welcome to watch the play, if it’s something they feel they would benefit from.

The schedules of shows open to the public is as follows:

■July 26 and 27, Aug. 1, 2 and 4, at 7:30 p.m. at the Shea Theater in Turners Falls

■July 28 at 2 p.m. and Aug. 3 at 7:30 p.m. at the Shea Theater in Turners Falls (masks required)

■July 30 at 1 p.m. at the Northampton Senior Center (free performance)

Tickets for performances at the Shea Theater are on a sliding scale from $25 to $50 and are available for purchase at https://tinyurl.com/3ptc7dra.