Theatre Review – Richard III

While their performance of A Comedy of Errors will have you rolling in the aisles with laughter, you couldn’t find a more extreme opposite in this week’s performance of Richard III.

Once again the Propeller group pulled out all the stops to create an exceptionally thrilling production.

Richard III is one of Shakespeare’s darkest plays;  a sinister and evil story of the rise (and fall) to power of Richard III, who lies, cheats and murders his way to the throne, using anyone and everyone to help him reach his aim only to discard or dispatch them the minute he has succeeded. There’s certainly nothing to laugh about in this plotline and yet the brilliant performances from the cast, the ingenious set design and staging, together with the hauntingly beautiful vocal arrangements create a truly spine-tingling production. Even the temperature in the theatre seemed cooler adding a slight chill to the air and accentuating the overall tone of the production.

The costumes worked well on many levels too; the masks and butchers aprons worn by the cast created a sense of sinister anonymity and yet added to the clinical and unemotional way that Richard sees off his competition. At other times the cast were dressed completely in black (including those playing the roles of women) which added to the gravity and darkness of the play.

Richard Clothier’s Richard III was despicable in every sense of the word and yet you couldn’t help but be drawn to his character and even at times pity him. Looking like a Nazi war veteran, he was a cross between a spoilt, attention seeking child and a ruthless egotistical maniac. He held the audience captive with every line and gesture and his stage presence was undeniable – a truly brilliant performance.

The murders were all highly spectacular and very bloody which added to the macabre feel of the play. At times it was almost impossible to watch because they were so gruesome and horrible – and yet a morbid fascination draws you in to the play and it was one of those occasions when you know that what you’re seeing is wrong, but you still watch anyway.

It was a vast change in mood from the spectacularly funny Comedy of Errors but nonetheless brilliant in its own way. It also highlighted the versatility of the actors themselves showing that they can perform both comedy and tragedy with the same ease, passion and emotion. Both plays were equally thrilling and exciting for different reasons, but were performed and staged to the same high standard and would have made Shakespeare proud.

Propeller are touring the UK with this production and A Comedy of Errors until July 2011.For more details visit their website http://www.propeller.org.uk/home