Richard III

There have been some great Richard III’s; some truly memorable performances from the now iconic Laurence Olivier, who acted, produced and directed his film of the play in 1955. Other memorable Richards include the ubiquitous Kenneth Branagh, and the steely Ian McKellan who is actually in Melbourne at the moment for a touring production of Waiting for Godot. For me, the most memorable performance of Richard III (so far) was when as a teenager I saw The Royal Shakespeare Company’s Antony Sher perform Richard on crutches. He was the “bottled spider” physically as well as spiritually.

That was around 1985, and now in 2010, the current Melbourne Theatre Production of Richard III is as mesmerising, as compelling and as laudable, if not more – because after all, it is a local production and local talent all under the capable direction of Simon Phillips. Phillips, Artistic Director of the MTC, clearly not only gets Shakespeare but is able to confidently present a fresh exciting angle on this “deformed, unfinished” character as Richard calls himself.

Ewen Leslie as Richard, Duke of Gloucester, and the King’s brother offers a wonderfully composed performance as a young man who veers from recalcitrant child to chillingly cold pathological killer. Leslie has worked in a number of productions for the Sydney Theatre Company, and last year won the 2009 Sydney Theatre Award. If his Richard is a testament to his talent, then the Australian theatre scene will have a lot of great things to look forward to from him.

The actresses who play the series of female characters in this production stand out particularly, perhaps it is their ability to convey a more humane and compassionate element in contrast to Richard’s dark indifference.

Meredith Penman as Lady Anne mourning the loss of her husband Henry the former Prince of Wales (whom Richard murdered). Jennifer Hagan as Queen Margaret the former King’s widow from the deposed House of Lancaster (whom Richard also murdered) and Alison Whyte as Queen Elizabeth, King Edward IV’s wife and mother of the Prince of Wales and the Duke of York (who Richard again had murdered).

Penman, Hagan and Whyte draw perfectly on their female character’s frailties and their performances provide a self-referential anchor for a world that seems to be going mad under Richard’s vile orchestration.

One particular scene where Richard pleads crazily with Queen Elizabeth to understand that the killing of her sons could be redeemed by allowing him to marry her daughter was shockingly wonderful theatre between Leslie and Whyte.

And of course Deidre Rubenstein as the Duchess of York and mother of Richard; her despair and railings of anger at a son that she remembers as the “wretched’st thing when he was young” and that her womb had been “accursed” by him.

Leslie plays the defiant malevolent son to Rubenstein’s honourable bewildered mother perfectly. An uncompromising display of good versus evil.

The remaining cast is more than solid. It is engaged, impressive and completely committed to what can be I expect a challenging three hours of work.

Of course the set, sound and design in this type of production all play a significant role, and unsurprisingly the team is large. From Josh Burns (Audio-Visual Designer) Shaun Gurton (Set Designer) Esther Marie Hayes (Costume Designer) Ian McDonald (Composer) and Nick Schlieper (Lighting Designer). Under the direction of Simon Phillips we enter an almost corporate world of business suited men, prison cells and an underground resistance that speaks of modern warfare literally and figuratively. Interestingly when the Tudor faction arrive to overthrow Richard, they all speak with American accents.

Someone that should also be praised in regard to a production of Shakespeare is Leith McPherson (Assistant Director and Vocal Coach) because Shakespearean text can and does often sound incoherent in inexperienced hands. In this production of Richard III the vocals were articulate and confident – silver-tongued even.

Richard III
Melbourne Theatre Company
Sumner Theatre
24 April - 12 June
Running Time: Approximately 2 hours 55 minutes including a 20 minute interval.