If you wanted to invent a funny place to discover the skeleton of a king, you would find nowhere more comically deflating than a council car park. If the reputation of Richard III had been trashed by Shakespeare and warped by the history books, it took another knock when his remains were dug up next to Leicester’s social services department in 2012.
Historical novelist Philippa Gregory can see the funny side, but wants to correct the record. Her debut play is no hagiography, but it presents a view of a maligned king whose actions are less tyrannical than expedient. Enmeshed in the politics of his day, this Richard makes decisions based on judgment rather than sociopathic ambition. Yes, he is a hardbitten fighter but he has a belief in good governance that, in the midst of so much mayhem and murder, seems admirable.
