At Mappa Mundi |
| Mappa Mundi- Richard III , Aberystwyth Arts Centre , February 14, 2005 |
| Over the last few years the Welsh Company Mappa Mundi have established a reputation for creating accessible productions of classic texts – or at least that’s how their publicity line goes. Describing themselves as the enfant terrible of the Welsh theatre scene it’d be easy to dislike them, that is, of course, if the hype weren’t true. Currently touring Wales with their cut version of Shakespeare’s Richard III, Mappa Mundi have done the PR folk proud. At the start of the play Richard is simply Duke of Gloucester and brother to the King. A hunchback with a limp, he is loved by neither the people nor his family, and at the beginning of the play seems unlikely to be King. Set in mid to late 20th Century, it bespeaks an age in the last century when the Royal family were revered before the advent of private scandal made them the subject of scorn. Although, the inner turmoil and scandal that afflicts Richard and his kin is nothing like the Royal family a modern audience is familiar with, we can see the mirrored deterioration, from respected family in the public eye to revolt and overthrow. As Richard III, Tom Englishby is charismatic and likeable. He is a repugnantly malign force that manipulates the characters in the play as easily as he shifts the pieces of his ever-present chess board. Adolescent and petulant, he seems more reviled for his appearance than the malice of his character. His affected childlikeness, demonstrated through his constant protestations of affection, make him appear more of an embarrassment to the family, rather than someone they feel a need to keep an eye on, which perhaps explains the ease with which he ascends to the throne. In spite of his grating humility, he is nonetheless likeable and the stage feels oddly empty in the few scenes in which he’s not required. Caitlin Richards as Lady Anne and Kathryn Dimery as Queen Elizabeth lend some much needed heart to the piece. Forced to marry King Richard, the man responsible for the death of her husband and father in law, and subsequently bumped off almost as soon as the cake’s been cut, Caitlin Richards draws sympathy through the dichotomy of being a much loved, iconic figure, and the private grief of being privy to the whims and machinations of men. Queen Elizabeth, later demonised by Tudor rhetoric, is portrayed as something of a Margaret Thatcher figure by Kathryn Dimery, though ultimately with more warmth, and the scenes between her and her mother in law, the Duchess of York, seem real and touching. There are, as a whole, some wonderfully atmospheric and genuinely chilling moments in the performance. Each death at the hands of Richard is represented by him taking another piece off his chessboard and placing it in a box. This of course was turned on its head later in the play when the ghosts of Richards’ dead took the stage when he and Henry of Richmond sleep the night before battle. The dead, took to the stage in Trestle-style white masks and, saluting the future king, they gathering menacingly around Richard, slumped over his chessboard, and mock his puppetry of the living. The staging of the production was simple, but effective. Use of simple light effects conveyed settings as varied as a prison and a railway station. A production that steers away from being gory, the murder of Richard’s nephews is represented simply by a dimming of lights while two young boys sing, ‘The grand old Duke of York’. Spooky and riveting, this version of Richard III is well worth watching. |
Reviewed by: Melissa Dunne |
This review has been read 2586 times There are 25 other reviews of productions with this title in our database:
|
