The Upcoming
  • Culture
    • Art
    • Cinema & Tv
      • Movie reviews
      • Film festivals
      • Shows
    • Food & Drinks
      • News & Features
      • Restaurant & bar reviews
      • Interviews & Recipes
    • Literature
    • Music
      • Live music
    • Theatre
  • Fashion & Lifestyle
    • Accessories
    • Beauty
    • News & Features
    • Shopping & Trends
    • Tips & How-tos
    • Fashion weeks
  • What’s On
    • Art exhibitions
    • Theatre shows
  • Tickets
  • Join us
    • Editorial unit
    • Our writers
    • Join the team
    • Join the mailing list
    • Support us
    • Contact us
  • Interviews
  • Competitions
  • Special events
    • Film festivals
      • Berlin
      • Tribeca
      • Sundance London
      • Cannes
      • Locarno
      • Venice
      • London
      • Toronto
    • Fashion weeks
      • London Fashion Week
      • New York Fashion Week
      • Milan Fashion Week
      • Paris Fashion Week
      • Haute Couture
      • London Fashion Week Men’s
  • Facebook

  • Twitter

  • Instagram

  • YouTube

  • RSS

CultureTheatre

Richard III at the Almeida Theatre

Richard III at the Almeida Theatre | Theatre review
16 June 2016
Mersa Auda
Avatar
Mersa Auda
16 June 2016

Ralph Fiennes has impressed audiences time after time on the big screen, and his theatrical path has been equally rich and varied. His Shakespearean roles are especially noteworthy, and he now revisits the Bard’s repertoire by taking on the infamous villain Richard III. Accompanied by a strong cast and a magnificent Vanessa Redgrave as Queen Margaret, it is a privilege to witness such magnetism and charisma as the two perform together for the first time on stage. Redgrave is as graceful as ever and her presence is mesmerising.

Resolved to become king at any cost, Richard, the Duke of Gloucester, climbs the power ladder using treachery, violence and murder. Ruthless and manipulating, he sneaks his way to the throne one brutal deed at a time. Ralph Fiennes honours the character’s complexity and brings to the stage a Richard that is bitter, conniving and savagely ambitious. The character’s physical deformity is portrayed to full effect and there is a momentousness to his every speech, making his behaviour seem all the more disturbing.

The sound and especially the lighting play a vital part in creating an eerie atmosphere of foreboding. The dense suspense is occasionally punctuated by sudden outbursts of violence or grief. The technical aspects, perfectly orchestrated and highly effective, create a cinematic feel that makes the action visually striking, whether it’s private candlelit meetings or uproarious fights on a muddy battlefield. The setting changes frequently and each scene comes alive thanks to a few but carefully selected objects and clever touches of light and darkness.

Dungeon-like walls are decorated with skulls, and a coffin-shaped hole is dug in an earth-filled pit at the centre of the stage.The props and costumes are from a medley of ages ranging from swords and armours to modern dress, mobile phones and pocket agendas. Somehow, the incongruity does not ruin the harmony of the whole but rather gives the play a timeless quality.

The production could have perhaps benefitted from a slightly tighter, faster pace, but the technical aspects keep it engaging at all times and the award-winning duo, Redgrave and Fiennes, give five-star performances that redeem, to a great extent, the minor weaknesses in the play. Aside from the tempo that holds it back somewhat, director Rupert Goold’s Richard III, which will be broadcast in cinemas worldwide on July 21st, is an intense experience offering quality and brilliance in every department.

★★★★★

Mersa Auda
Photo: Miles Aldridge

Richard III is on at Almeida Theatre from 14th June until 6th August 2016, for further information or to book visit here.

Related Itemsfeaturedreview

More in Theatre

Late Night Staring at High Res Pixels

★★★★★
Brooke Snowe
Read More

Redemption Room at Secret Theatre Online

★★★★★
Michael Higgs
Read More

Rice! at Omnibus Theatre

★★★★★
Cristiana Ferrauti
Read More

24, 23, 22 at Chronic Insanity Online

★★★★★
Samuel Nicholls
Read More

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice at Southwark Playhouse Online

★★★★★
Michael Higgs
Read More

Typical at Soho Theatre

★★★★★
Ella Satin
Read More

Grimm Tales for Fragile Times and Broken People

★★★★★
Emma-Jane Betts
Read More

Gatsby at Cadogan Hall: An interview with Jodie Steele and Ross William Wild

Michael Higgs
Read More

Living Record Festival: Ain’t No Female Romeo

★★★★★
Brooke Snowe
Read More
Scroll for more
Tap

Theatre review

Mersa Auda

Richard III

★★★★★

Dates

14th June - 6th August 2016

Links & directions

WebsiteMap

  • Popular

  • Latest

  • TOP PICKS

  • I’m Your Man (Ich bin dein Mensch)
    ★★★★★
    Berlinale
  • Celebrate International Women’s Day with a Bombay Sapphire Cocktails & Create masterclass
    Food & Drinks
  • The Girl and the Spider (Das Mädchen und die Spinne)
    ★★★★★
    Berlinale
  • Bicep at Saatchi Gallery Online
    ★★★★★
    Live music
  • Moxie
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • Surge
    ★★★★★
    Glasgow
  • The Old Ways
    ★★★★★
    Glasgow
  • Women in film introduce favourite female-directed features for new BFI series on 8th March
    Cinema & Tv
  • WandaVision
    ★★★★★
    disney
  • Censor
    ★★★★★
    Berlinale
  • WandaVision
    ★★★★★
    disney
  • Coming 2 America
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • Kings of Leon – When You See Yourself
    ★★★★★
    Album review
  • The Dissident
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • Short Vacation (Jong chak yeok)
    ★★★★★
    Berlinale
The Upcoming
Pages
  • Contact us
  • Join mailing list
  • Join us
  • Our London food map
  • Our writers
  • Support us
  • What, when, why

Copyright © 2011-2020 FL Media

Hobson’s Choice at the Vaudeville Theatre | Theatre review
Gods of Egypt | Movie review