Richard III Review

Richard III

(Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon)

My holiday in Stratford-upon-Avon continued with the Nations at War season's second offering, Richard III. This play about a deformed man plotting to take over the throne of England is one of my favourite Shakespeare plays. However I was slightly dubious about the fact that Irish actor, Jonjo O'Neill, was playing the title role, especially after seeing his graphic, albeit funny, Queen Mab speech as Mercutio in Rupert Gould's 2010 production of Romeo and Juliet. I felt he would be too young for the role, although the real Richard III was about his age when he died. I guess that the Richard IIIs I have seen were older than Jonjo when they played the role, e.g. Laurence Olivier, Ian McKellan and Kathryn Hunter, or else appear ideal for the role, like Jonathan Slinger. This production was therefore a different take on the play for me.

This production can best be described as light-hearted. Having seen Michael Boyd's Histories, I realised that I was once again seeing a stand alone Richard III production that does not necessarily need to reflect upon Shakespeare's first tetralogy. I was not entirely convinced by Jonjo O'Neill's 'Now is the winter of our discontent' speech, but as soon as I realised what direction the production was taking I warmed to him. He is not the 'bottled up spider' that I would imagine (Shakespeare's) Richard to be. He only had a raised shoulder, a slight limp, and an injured (or cursed) hand, whilst his hair was sticking up. Instead, he is a darkly humorous Richard, as he revels in his announcement to become a villain. He emphasises Richard's quips, such as casually giving one of Henry VI's coffin bearers his 'was ever a woman of this humour wooed' line to be met by no response, before giving the next line to the nearest member of the audience, each time starting by saying 'hey'. This was a nice touch which allowed him to connect to the audience.  However, it might had been nice though if his attitude and reactions had changed as events became more serious by the end. In fact it felt as though director Roxana Silbert was struggling to change the mood for the Battle of Bosworth, thereby leaving a rather subdued and forgettable ending.

This is also the first time I had seen a Richard III production where I could tell that a number of Richard's supporters like Buckingham (Brian Ferguson) and Catesby (Alex Waldman) were being played by young actors. The production was emphasising that a younger generation was taking over the country from the older generation comprising Edward IV (Mark Jax), Elizabeth Woodville (Siobhan Redmond) and Lord Hastings (John Stahl). I also liked how Richard was being portrayed as less the evil mastermind and more a man who plotted the first few steps to taking the throne, but did not foresee what would happen as a result. The moment when he addressed the people of London was clearly thought up at the last minute. Hearing people struggling to prepare the event backstage was a nice idea, though the comedic side to it did become tiresome. Elsewhere, despite short in stature whilst wearing baggy clothing, Paola Dioniscotti was a wild yet strong Margaret, as she stamps the floor and points at the members of the Yorkist family cursing their eventual demise. Natalie Klamar also played a strong Elizabeth of York who maintained her dignity, yet languished at the news of the young princes' death.

I liked the grey metallic walls at the back of the stage which gave an impression of a prison, though as a background to the humour it felt out of place apart from the scenes that required a prison setting. It did however allow some striking shadows and colourful lighting. I did not know what the idea was behind the hanging bulbs above the stage. I was half expecting some electrifying motifs during such moments as Margaret's curses, yet they were just there. The music that came in on cue at times also felt unnecessary and annoying at times.

This whimsical approach was well supported by a young cast which made the production enjoyable to watch. In turn it allowed me to appreciate Jonjo O'Neill's Richard III even more. It was however a mixed bag at times and was not well supported by the later events of the play and the overall design. Also, having seen two of the three productions I have to wonder how the contents of these two productions link into the theme Nations at War. Neither seemed to have a clear idea what war between nations meant to them, but just danced around the subject. This however, like King John, is worth seeing at a high Bargain