The legend behind the ultimate villain will be resurrected and excavated in The Tragedy of King Richard III, an adaptation of the Shakespeare classic, at the La Boite Roundhouse Theatre from 21 May 2016.
Following his critical success with 2015 Brisbane Festival’s The Seagull, The Tragedy of King Richard III is co-written by Daniel Evans (Winner – Queensland Premier’s Drama Award 2014/2015) and Marcel Dorney (Winner – Queensland Premier’s Drama Award 2010/2011).
Crippled king. Fierce warrior. Cunning psychopath. For four centuries, Shakespeare’s Richard III has been regarded as the greatest villain in world drama; a bottled spider, loved and loathed for spinning a web of lies and violence around the monarchy.
In 2012, Richard’s resting place was finally uncovered: an unmarked, unremarkable, shallow grave beneath a supermarket car park – too small for the remains or the myth. This year, he gets the royal treatment. Armed with some of Queensland’s most intrepid theatre makers, the production promises to be a fast and furious blood-soaked battle royale, where nobody’s getting out clean – or alive.
The star studded cast features Naomi Price (Channel 9’s The Voice Australia; QTC’s Ladies in Black; Little Red Company’s Rumour Has It) and Artistic Director of La Boite Todd MacDonald (Director – Medea, Prize Fighter), who performs on the La Boite stage for the first time.
The production also features Brisbane treasures Helen Howard (La Boite’s The Glass Menagerie, Hamlet), Pacharo Mzembe (La Boite’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Prize Fighter) and Amy Ingram (QTC’s I Want to Know What Love Is).
“The show sits between the divide of what Shakespeare wrote, and who Richard actually was,” said Evans. “It’s a ruthless, liquefied world. The underlying verb is excavation. It’s a messy show – it’s sticky, it’s slippery.”
The Tragedy of King Richard III is a relentless and gritty autopsy on the perception of a man, in which audiences will never see this historical character in the same light again.
Director: Daniel Evans Featuring: Helen Howard, Amy Ingram, Todd MacDonald, Pacharo Mzembe, Naomi Price, Atticus Robb, Peter Rowland Designer: Kieran Swann Composer: Guy Webster Fight Director: Nigel Poulton Lighting Designer: Jason Glenwright Dramaturg: Lucas Stibbard
The Tragedy of King Richard III
La Boite Roundhouse Theatre, Musk Avenue, Kelvin Grove (Brisbane)
Season: 27 May – 11 June 2016 (previews: 21 – 26 May)
Bookings: (07) 3007 8600 or online at: www.laboite.com.au
For more information, visit: www.laboite.com.au for details.
Image: The Tragedy of King Richard III – photo by Dylan Evans