How to use this Page

Shakespeare’s Richard 111 – killed whoever stood in his way to power – has anything changed?

Richard 111 playing at the Ensemble Theatre, Sydney is a stage within a stage.

A troupe of actors gather to perform Shakespeare’s Richard 111, an intensely dark play of evil, revealing one of history’s greatest villain.

Complex with outstanding performances by the cast, most of who play multiple characters, Shakespeare’s Richard 111 is peopled with a huge number of characters. The diagrams of family trees as the backdrop, references this and then the challenge is for the audience to give themselves permission to leave aside the many names and players, and enter Richard’s world.

Richard 111 is driven by political ambition for power at any cost with murders, fierce battles, the strong female characters typical of Shakespearean drama, evil manipulations in its many forms.

Mark Kilmurray’s performance of Richard is brilliant portraying Richard, the hunchback, crippled with one arm deformed and a club foot. His deformities are painful physically, emotionally and morally denying Richard love, respect and acceptance which is a factor that underlies his consuming lust for power. Kilmurray’s Richard despite his disabilities, is fast and at times seems to dance through the blood of potential rivals controlling the stage and every player. Ironically, it is a pleasure to watch Kilmurray’s Richard.

There are some very funny moments in this play of murder and mayhem, with quick character changes, set designs and props that contrast to the vanities and ambitions of the characters. Matt Edgerton’s well executed character changes, are especially humorous. Amy Matthews and Danielle Carter’s as Queen Elizabeth and Lady Anne are powerfully gripping as they navigate the fall-out of Richard’s murderous plots, with the death of their children.

Richard 111 becomes king. It is a hollow victory as he faces his final scene where he is attacked and lies dying. He calls out – ‘A horse! a horse! my kingdom for a horse!’. Like Hitler, Stalin, Idi Amin and other evil dictators, the lust for power ends in oblivion and the belated recognition that life is the most important thing.

Richard declared at the beginning that “Since I cannot prove a lover … I am determined to prove a villain.” He is certainly a villain who leave the audiences with questions about the human forces that create the pursuit of power at any cost. Is it nurture, nature, lack of love, evil within human nature? A play worth seeing.

Susanne Gervay ~ Reviewer, author www.sgervay.com

Ensemble Theatre
78 McDougall Street, Kirribilli Australia 2061
(02) 9929 8877; Box Office: (02) 9929 0644; http://ensemble.com.au/

The post ‘My Kingdom for a Horse’ ~ Who said that? appeared first on Susanne Gervay's Blog.