Derek and Melissa’s Family

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Shakespeare--Richard III

by Derek—2003.07.01 @ 0003

My rating: 5 out of 5

Every once-in-a-while you attend a performance that was so well played, so amazingly cast and performed, so wonderfully moving that you wish you could personally tell each actor personally. So it was with the July 1, 2003 performance of Richard III at the Utah Shakespearean Festival. However, since I couldn’t meet any of the actors after the show, and since my hands were numb from all the clapping, the point was moot. So here I am to relate a bit of the ambiance.

If you’ve never been to a Shakespeare play before, you haven’t experienced one fully unless you’ve seen one in an authentic Elizabethan “tudor” stage. The Utah Festival happens to have one of the few tudor facades in the nation, which adds to the authentic touch you feel just walking on the grounds. The stage is open to the sky and built very authentically to the theatre in England. For the performance of Richard III, the facade was decorated with massive gothic pillars—flying buttresses, actually—which added to the illusion of being where the action was taking place.

The performance of the lead role—Richard—was amazing. The actor performed the role (which included a humped back, withered arm, and crooked leg) with such exactness that you couldn’t help but feel pity for such a loathsome creature. Richard—through lies, deceit, trickery, murder, and a host of flattery—becomes King of England, only to be dethroned later by Richmond.

The ending scene where Richard meets his demise is a spectacular fight scene where Richard is eventually skewered by several spears and hoisted into the air. The act drew gasps from the audience and was so full of emotion you could have cut it.

While the names and fame of the actors may slip into oblivion, their performance will be remembered for some time. I can still see Richard in his closing soliloquy saying to himself, “are there any murderers in this room? Oh yes, I am.”