CurtainUp
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A CurtainUp London Review
Richard III
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"Thou camest on earth to make the earth my hell.?
A grievous burthen was thy birth to me;? Tetchy and wayward was thy infancy;? Thy school-days frightful, desperate, wild, and furious,? Thy prime of manhood daring, bold, and venturous,? Thy age confirm'd, proud, subtle, sly, and bloody. — Duchess of York |
Ralph Fiennes as Richard III (Photo: (Marc Brenner)
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This isn't a Richard III to please the Ricardians, those followers of Richard of Gloucester or Richard of York who was vilified, by Tudor historian Thomas More and William Shakespeare, in order to please the descendants of Henry Tudor. Ever since I read Josephine Tey's novel The Daughter of Time as a teenager, I have been more likely to believe that Henry Tudor had more motive to kill his wife Elizabeth's brothers, the princes in the tower than their murderously perceived uncle Richard.
Then in 2012 we had the most amazing discovery of the skeleton in the car park now on the site of the Greyfriars Friary Church in Leicester. The body in the car park was a sensational historical event. Just when we thought nothing more could be added to antiquity, scientific analysis of DNA made identification possible. This is where Rupert Goold's production opens.
Archaeologists in white overalls are digging in the car park and slowly bringing to light the body of a man approximately in his thirties with curvature of the spine and severe injuries. The skeleton was dated to the late 1400s and matched to descendants of Richard's sister. A glass floor covers the excavation area and Richard (Ralph Fiennes) enters all in black, the set very dark, for his speech about the winter of discontent and the son/sun of York. Scott Handy, who always looks woeful to me, as George Duke of Clarence will be sent to the Tower on the orders of Edward IV's wife and queen, Elizabeth Woodville (Aislin McGuckin).
In this modern dress production, Hastings (James Garnon) will check his cell phone to the line, "What news abroad?". Lady Anne (Joanna Vanderham) will be praying at the body of her dead husband when Richard will woo her. Anne will reject him in a strident manner in this difficult role. She will be the first to use the animal names applied to Richard, hedgehog, toad, spider, and from his crest boar, reflecting a cruel age when physical deformity equaled villainy.
Yes we are there to watch Fiennes but Vanessa Redgrave steals the limelight as Henry VI's widow Margaret. How brilliant to see her back in a Shakespearean role! Margaret who is portrayed as having the power to curse calling in divine retribution, curses Richard with a finger not pointing but crooked as if with arthritis. Later these women in Richard's life come together, Margaret, Richard's mother the Duchess of York (Susan Engel) and Edward IV's widow Queen Elizabeth. We have this unique picture of the effect on women of loss of their men who have died in the Wars of the Roses. The powerful litany of names of from Queen Margaret:
"Tell o'er your woes again by viewing mine:
I had an Edward, till a Richard kill'd him;
I had a Harry, till a Richard kill'd him:
Thou hadst an Edward, till a Richard kill'd him;
Thou hadst a Richard, till a Richard killed him;"
Fiennes' Richard uses less of the humour and irony and is therefore more dislikable and really wicked. Think Voldemort. His charisma which seems to seduce Lady Anne and Queen Elizabeth was not appreciated by me and therefore makes their warming towards him less explicable. When the smallest prince, Richard (Benedict Barker) jumps on his uncle's back, we see Richard in obvious pain, look vindictively at the child.
Richard's coronation sees Richard III as actor as his excessive show of piety, a mask of obsequious religiousity disguises. He pretends humility in the face of the entreaties from Buckingham (Finbar Lynch) and the Lord Mayor (Mark Hadfield). He limps up to the throne and simpers. Like the present queen handing on the gifted bouquets to her aide de camp, Richard hands over the orb and scepter and casually hangs his crown on the throne spindle as if they are unimportant now he possesses them.
Hildegard Bechtler's set is dominated by a huge metal circle of dark steel, a suspended, overarching crown if you like, which lights gold and blue for the coronation where Richard wears gold damask. As Tyrell (David Annen) talks about the murder of the innocents more skulls are lit behind the throne on a dark backdrop in a visual toll of murders. Richard wears a costume that shows his bent and twisted spine.
Before the battle of Bosworth, Henry Tudor, the Earl of Richmond (Tom Canton) and Richard appear on stage together. Handsome Henry, tall with blonde curls expresses noble thoughts while Richard scribbles his battle plans. Before the battle, Richard is visited by the ghosts of Clarence, Rivers, Hastings, Lady Anne and Buckingham. Adam Cork as Composer and Sound Designer gives us the roar of battle and Jon Clark's blinding lights dazzle us in the conflict.
Rupert Goold delivers a most accessible production of this play. There are no redeeming qualities for his villain. There are day seats to queue for and a daily lottery and a cinema streaming on 21st July in the UK and around the world http://live.almeida.co.uk to see this essential play with its memorable for a lifetime ensemble performances.
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PRODUCTION NOTES
Richard III
Written by William Shakespeare
Directed by Rupert Goold
Starring: Ralph Fiennes, Vanessa Redgrave, Finbar Lynch, Susan Engel, James Garnon, Daniel Carqueira, Aislin McGuckin, Joseph Mydell, Mark Hadfield
With: Scott Handy, Tom Canton, Joanna Vanderham, Simon Coates, Joseph Arkley, Joshua Riley, David Annen, Bededict Barker/Oliver Whitehouse, Baxter Westby/Lukas Rolfe
Movement: Anna Morrissey
Set Design: Hildegard Bechtler
Costume Design: Jon Morrell
Lighting Design: Jon Clark
Composer and Sound Design: Adam Cork
Fight Director: Terry King
Running time: Three hours 10 minutes with an interval
Box Office: 020 7359 4404
Booking to 6th August 2016
Reviewed by Lizzie Loveridge based on 25th June 2016 matinee performance at the Almeida Theatre, Upper Street London N1 (Tube: The angel)
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