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RICHARD III, BY WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE, RSC, COURTYARD THEATRE, STRATFORD-UPON-AVON

 
  JANUARY 2007  
     
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Michael Boyd has directed the follow-up to his exciting and innovative Henry VI trilogy with equal flair and style. Using the same rusted iron set and vast thrust stage, this Richard III is a triumph from beginning to end. War-torn England is ruled by the House of York whose corruption and immorality are only matched by its suicidal spiral into never-ending civil conflict. Sound familiar? It should, since, as the ultra-modern design of Tom Piper seems to highlight, this political intrigue is timeless and pertinent to successive generations.

Of course the play's politics is heavily biased towards its Elizabethan audience. This is a play which recreates a fanciful historical “truth” which flatters and bolsters the prevailing Tudor dynasty. As so many modern apologists for King Richard would tell us, our impression of this dark and sinister king is based solely on Shakespeare's construct and bears little relationship to the true king or his personality. Sinister construct or out-and-out slanderous misportrayal, the Richard we all love to hate has made this play justifiably famous.

In the hands of Boyd, a play which for many has become a set school text has gloriously come to life. For me, it was like watching the drama unfold for the very first time, not least because of the faithful interpretation of the text. So many productions cut whole sections which, to them, seem unnecessary. At nearly three and a half hours including interval, this might have proved an uncomfortable audience marathon. Instead it enthralled from beginning to cataclysmic end. The standing ovation was well-deserved, as much for the great performances as for the brave directing.

Richard himself is the stock villain, a role half tragic anti-hero and half buffoon. Jonathan Slinger is absolutely superb in the part. In an age of political correctness, here is a malformed Richard III who rants and screams, connives and plots, like the alter ego of the late Ian Drury at his Blockhead-best. Slinger hobbles on his callipered leg, his shoulder misshapen by a prominent hump, his left hand missing a finger and sporting a vast strawberry birthmark that disfigures half his face. Dressed as a pseudo-punk, this Richard may get angry and venomous, but his beguilement of those women who most deserve to hate him is both disgusting and, more importantly, totally believable. Slinger's star performance will long live in the Stratford collective memory.

An equally strong ensemble adds life and lustre to this great production. Richard Cordery as the Duke of Buckingham gets his just rewards for nurturing the excesses of his malicious charge. At one point in the play, Richard literally rides the Duke of Buckingham as he manoeuvres his way to the throne.

Keith Dunphy and Nicholas Asbury get the most unexpected humour out of the murderers Lovell and Vaughan, sent to kill Richard's brother the Duke of Clarence (James Tucker). Tucker reacts to his would-be assassins like any aristocrat faced with imminent doom; the assassins, meanwhile, suffer doubt and anxiety, only the financial rewards eventually tipping the balance between mercy and villainy.

The women's parts in Richard III are remarkably strong and impeccably acted. Hannah Barrie is vital as Lady Anne, Katy Stephens a dignified delight as Queen Margaret, and Maureen Beattie a tortured Duchess of York whose curse against her own son cuts to the very quick. Ann Ogbomo's Queen Elizabeth personifies dignified elegance, whilst Alexia Healy's Mistress Shore, a character so often expunged from other productions, adds to the underlying sense of moral decay at the heart of the piece.

The RSC has added yet another great production to their Complete Works season. Boyd is showing the lead with great Shakespearean drama. Richard III is a must, especially the performance of Jonathan Slinger in the title-role. Maleficent and magnificent all rolled into one. Faultless.

Kevin Quarmby © 2007