It goes without saying, then, that before Sunday, I'd never read or seen any version of Richard III. I had heard good things though, so I felt super excited to see what dude was all about. Before our outing, Fi thought she'd give me a little teaser by referring me to the story of the Princes in the Tower. It's a spooky vignette about the mysterious disappearance of Edward V of England & Richard of Shrewsbury, a couple of teenagers in line for the throne who were spirited away without a trace. Richard might've had something to do with that.
NB: the Guardian's pic, not mine.
As it happens, Richard the III is one of Shakespeare's great villains, ranking up there with the likes of Iago & Shylock. Fortunately for Fi & me, Sunday's production featured Kevin Spacey in the titular role, & dude knocked it out of the park. Directed by the renowned film auteur Sam Mendes, Spacey brought his characteristic blend of humor & creepiness to the part with admirable, if not sometime staggering, intensity. I found him super entertaining. Not only that, but he managed to make the Shakespeare feel accessible, I suspect even to audience members who were just there for his star-power. Though the production totalled 3.5 hours & aspects of it bordered on a little too artsy (I blame you, Sam Mendes), I really enjoyed myself. It's nice when edifying activities turn out to be fun, eh?
Photography was verboten inside the theatre,
but I managed to sneak this one pic for you guys.
Hopefully I won't get deported.
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