Richard III
Liverpool Playhouse
Set against a backdrop of Morris dancing, and following her critically acclaimed production of Richard II at Shakespeare’s Globe, Bridgerton star Adjoa Andoh brings a powerful performance of Richard III to the Liverpool Playhouse for a limited time run.
Given that Richard III is the second longest of Shakespeare’s plays, and that this was the first time we’d been to watch a performance of any of The Bard’s historical plays, there was a slight apprehension that we wouldn’t enjoy the performance. Within the first scene, we knew that wasn’t going to be the case and we were about to watch something special.
For those unfamiliar, the play follows the rise and eventual downfall of the tyrannical Richard III, with Shakespeare painting him as a deformed outcast. Adjoa Andoh’s version maintains the ostracisation, but instead transforms this into a racial isolation; Richard is the only person of colour in a rural Cotswold setting, trying desperately to fit in with the rest of the community.
From the opening soliloquy, Richard’s exclusion is obvious. Part performed as a folk song, the rest of the cast emerge initially as silhouettes at the back of the stage. Their emergence from shadow theatre, to dance around the Maypole, quickly takes a sinister turn as they tie Richard to the Maypole and force a boar’s head on his. The classic “I am determined to prove a villain” line delivered with equal part venom and despair, assisted by the simple staging and restricted movements of Andoh.
This simple staging is repeated throughout the rest of the production. A lone tree takes centre stage as the focal point (possibly a reference to Richard’s isolation), and is referenced throughout as The Tower of London. This simple staging was beautiful, but also allowed the actors to truly shine in their performance; there were no distractions caused by copious amounts of scenery or props, just brilliant acting.
Obviously, Adjoa Andoh deserves a special mention. Her ability to flip between the aspects of Richard’s character, one moment self-assured and the next screaming in a neurotic paranoia, was a masterclass. There was a vulnerable depth to the character that we hadn’t expected. We walked out actually feeling sorry for Richard; maybe he wasn’t a villain and was just the product of his environment.
A few other notable mentions from the cast are Rachel Sanders as Elizabeth Woodville and Joseph Kloska as Buckingham. There was something about both of their performances that set them apart from the rest. Sanders hatred for Richard after the murder of her sons is palpable, whilst Kloska’s the perfect trusty sidekick.
During the performance we watched, the character of Hastings that had been due to be played by Clive Brill was actually performed by Harriett O’Grady the Assistant Director after Brill had taken ill. Whilst in one scene she required a script, she did a fantastic job. Even holding the script didn’t distract as the paperwork seemed to work as a prop. We’re not entirely sure how she managed to always know where she was on the page given how little she looked down at the script!
The penultimate scenes fully cemented the Morris Dancing setting. The ghosts that torment Richard before his final battle each became a Jack o’ the Green / Green Man, a figure traditionally used Morris Dancing and in Paganism to symbolise the cycle of life, death and re-birth. Their entrance as foliage covered creatures had an element of whimsy, but the turmoil displayed by Andoh’s Richard was the perfect juxtaposition for this.
The final fight also took on the form of Morris Dancing. The troops of Richmond depicted in red vs Richard’s white was a simple and effective illustration of the War of the Roses, whilst the use of the Morris Dancing sticks became the weapons of war. This was beautifully choreographed and a perfect end to the show.
As brilliant as the show was, there was one element that didn’t work for us. The youngest of the Princes in the Tower, Richard of Shrewsbury, was a puppet. Controlled by the rest of the cast with lines delivered by Josh Day (who also played Prince Edward), the puppet felt like an unnecessary distraction. Maybe that’s partly due to a personal aversion to the kind of puppet used, but with such amazing acting on display there really was no need for the puppet.
Overall, this was a fantastic performance by a very strong cast with an unusual, but well thought out, backdrop for the story of Richard III.
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