RichaRd iii - Stratford Festival

Statecraft and Stagecraft
in Richard III
by Jane Freeman
Shakespeare wrote Richard III in the early 1590s,
and it was his first big hit. It was performed often
during his life and reprinted more frequently before
his death than any of his plays except Henry IV,
Part 1. Elizabethan audiences would have entered
the theatre knowing the story from several sources.
What they might not have predicted was that
seeing history through the eyes of a charismatic
villain could be so much fun.
The story they knew was dramatic. Richard,
Duke of Gloucester, an evil man with a twisted
character and a twisted back, wanted to be king
but he was not heir to the throne. Using subterfuge
and violence, he would remove all obstacles in his
path: his brother George, his brother King Edward’s
power-seeking in-laws, uncooperative noblemen
and – most infamously – his young nephews.
This unnatural monster would be rightfully killed
at the Battle of Bosworth by Henry Tudor, the
Earl of Richmond, who would become the first
Tudor monarch, King Henry VII. We know, though
Shakespeare’s audience probably did not, that
several of the facts of Richard III’s famous villainy
are fictions, generated by the “Tudor propaganda
machine” for political gain.
Richard III is the fourth play in a series (the others
being the three parts of Henry VI) that tells the story
2
Below | Director Miles Potter with MeMbers of the coMPany in rehearsal.
Facing page, From top| seana McKenna (richarD iii), roberta Maxwell
(Duchess of yorK) anD Martha henry (Queen Margaret); yanna Mcintosh
(Queen elizabeth) Following page | brenDan Murray (archbishoP) anD
wayne best (DuKe of bucKinghaM) with MeMbers of the coMPany;
seana McKenna; gareth Potter (richMonD) anD Director Miles Potter.
PhotograPhy by erin saMuell.
of the Wars of the Roses: the civil war between
the houses of York and Lancaster for the throne of
England. Richard starts the series as a loyal brother,
but by the third play he has revealed in soliloquy
both his desire to be king and the means by which
he hopes to succeed:
Why, I can smile, and murder whiles I smile,
And cry “Content” to that which grieves my heart,
And wet my cheeks with artificial tears,
And frame my face to all occasions. . . .
I can add colours to the chameleon,
Change shapes with Proteus for advantages,
And set the murderous Machiavel to school.
Can I do this, and cannot get a crown?
Tut, were it farther off, I’ll pluck it down.
– Henry VI, Part 3, Act III, scene 2
Like other theatrical Machiavels of the period,
all of whom draw on popular interpretations of
Machiavelli’s The Prince (published in 1532), Richard
is a quick-witted political strategist who is willing
to use immoral means to achieve his ends. He has
more lines than any other Shakespearean character
except Hamlet and speaks many of them directly
to the audience, thereby making us his confidants.
He is self-consciously theatrical: he performs roles
such as “loving brother” and “devout Christian” in