Bravery is not a word synonymous with the Shakespearean character of Richard III – quite the opposite.
But brave is the actor who plays the ‘crookback’ – Richard actually suffered from scoliosis, a sideways curvature of the spine – when he himself knows the daunting challenges of disability.
And that is why Arthur Hughes is currently making history at the Royal Shakespeare Company by being the first disabled actor to play Richard. The 30-year-old’s radial dysplasia means his right arm is not as ’normal’ as his left.
