I don't know what I was expecting when I turned up to the Playhouse to see Richard III.
I had this idea it would be classic Shakespeare, and I'd spend the whole time a little behind because I'd be trying to understand what the well-spoken characters just said and worrying if I missed something I'd have (literally) lost the plot. So I was a little cautious when I took my seat at the theatre to see how director and actor Adjoa Andoh (who you might know from Netflix's Bridgerton) had brought the play to life.
I've not read Richard III, so I can't tell you how true to the play this production was. But Adjoa's Richard III had all the prestige and talent I would expect from any performance of a play written by a man whose talents are still to be rivalled more than 400 years on.
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It started with Richard (played by Adjoa) alone on the sparsely decorated stage and a little monologue - very quickly the suspense, drama, emotion and awe started to build. Adjoa shone in the lead role, dancing with confidence and deep loneliness, and anger and sadness that could've carried the play alone if the cast as a whole hadn't been as phenomenal as they were.
Richard's compatriot, Buckingham (played by Joseph Kloska), was a perfect counterpart as the two brought down the king and twisted the knife into his family. They had a chemistry on stage that was hard not to warm to, despite their character's murderous and back-stabbing ways.
There were a few parts that took some getting used to - the use of a puppet as a young prince in particular - but these added to the play's depth and helped it stave off the potential danger that it'd turn into just three hours of Elizabethan-era English. The sound, lighting and staging really added to the performance with each death taking place behind a thin veil with a mighty noise that made goosebumps rise.
I'd worried the play would be a long three (-ish) hours but it sped by, and each minute I was engrossed in the drama. I always think one question that lingers with any Shakespeare play is, would someone who hasn't read it - or maybe isn't into Shakespeare - enjoy it?
And with full honesty I'd say yes. This stayed close to its roots but brought out something I hadn't been expecting at all and I'm so glad I went.
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