Rose Theatre – until 13th May 2023
Reviewed by Ben Jolly
4****
Choices. Strong, bold choices. Whether they pay off or not, I’m always so thrilled when a creative team has committed to a vision and executes it with passion and valour. Adjoa Andoh’s production of Richard III is a beautiful patchwork of choices, some questionable, some genius but patched together to create a daring and engaging piece of theatre.
The most significant change in the dynamic of the play was the decision to retell this story from a different angle (or ‘Swinging the Lense’ – Andoh’s aptly named production company). Andoh has chosen to tell the tale of a man’s soul crying out, and how in this story it is “not housed in a differently-abled body, it is housed in a black body” as Andoh describes. This completely alters our previous perceptions of Richard III, both man and play and thus takes us on an entirely new journey.
Richard is the classic example of the villainous protagonist (an increasingly popular trend) and when done well, we are uncomfortably on his side, feeling inner turmoil as we both root for and loathe the man we are spending 3 hours with; so, it is of paramount importance that we the audience have a connection, feel strongly toward him. This is where I believe Andoh’s performance of Richard excels the most; with humour and range, she commands the stage with Olympian energy and strength, drawing us in murder by murder.
Adding music and movement to the work both elevates and distracts from the material, moreso the latter unfortunately, Richard’s important first speech (and first scene of the play, unusual for Shakespeare to have the leading character also open the play) to the audience is completely absorbed in the wash of sights and sounds.
A wonderful cast overall, Liz Kettle played Queen Margaret with indomitable spirit and Joseph Kloska’s performance of Buckingham was a delight from beginning to end, finding magic in every moment of the play and the chemistry with Andoh was almost tangible.
Choices, as I say, bold choices were made for this production, west country dialects, Lion King inspired set design with a dash of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and a cameo appearance from a puppet, all while performing the play Richard III? Why not? Maybe a co-director would have helped Andoh to piece the patchwork together more neatly, and perhaps some of the staging could have been more fluid and dynamic but the initial drive of the piece powers through despite these distractions. Richard and now Andoh’s story has been told with unapologetic courage and strength.