RICHARD III
RICHARD III
Reviewed by Jeffrey R Smith of the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle
Who would'a thunk it possible: a RICHARD III that is a likeable chap.
Thanks to the California Shakespeare Theater of Orinda, we now have villainy dressed up as amicability, but without the Texas drawl.
Oh sure Richard is slightly hunched; he will never be remotely ambidextrous; his steps are a trifle crabbed; and yes it's true that he did thin out the ranks of the British Royal Family and the other pretenders to the throne, but the little twisted gent did it all with a classy Byzantine style.
Then too, Royalty are just little like nasal hairs, you pluck one out and two more pop out to take its place.
Plus royalty are self-indulgent snobs who sneer, like over-paid bureaucrats, at the very constituents who support them with extorted tax money.
And let's not even get in to the Divine Right brand of royalty who convinced us, for nearly two millennia, that God sat squarely on their side.
Then too, if you ever sat panting like a spaniel in August, stomach knotted, compressed shoulder to shoulder with lowbrow ne'er-do-well relatives, waiting to hear the family will get read, then you already know that family members are just greedy people who already share your DNA and are craving to share your inheritance too.
When it comes to windfall manna dropping like over-ripe mangos from the family tree, count on your beetling jawed relatives to be waiting like mud-caked razor backs at the swill trough: all too eager to stick their snouts into your rightful share of inherited wealth.
Imagine then poor Richard III, he wasn't just competing for a few sentimental family heirlooms like railroad watches, silver tea sets and antique bilateral trusses: it was the British Crown: England, Scotland, Wales and of course the ever truculent Northern Ireland.
Richard came along before the heady days of the British Empire, so he did not get to ride roughshod over two thirds of the undeveloped world, but he did get to live in nice castles equipped with roaring fireplaces in the winter; he could chow down on unlimited supplies of beef, mutton, lamb, venison; and wash it all down with buckets of British Ale topped with Beefeater shooters.
With such high stakes, is it any wonder that Richard III was forced to commit a little fratricide in order to divert the line of succession of the British Crown so that it would topple nicely onto his ready brow?
While it is true that few of us would actually kill our own brother to inherit the family fortune, most of our reluctance may be based on the paltry value of the estate: not our moral repugnance to tactical familial homicide.
Few of us would "off" a brother, or even a sister, just to gain title to a tiny cottage on a small lake crowded with bass fishermen and jet skiers, but what about a ritzy alpine chateau in Vail, Gstaad, Saint Moritz or the Catskills?
If you have you ever taken a hacksaw to a brake line, punctured a fuel tank in an inboard boat, or reversed the control cables on the family airplane, then you can sympathize with Richard III.
To be serious for a moment, consider that Shakespeare drew his allegations against RICHARD III, from the writings of two twisted propaganda artists: Edward Hall and Raphael Holinshed.
Hall and Holinshed were both spin-doctors for hire: they wrote contrived pseudo-history in the service of Henry VIII.
Henry VIII needed to rewrite history in order to legitimize his crown and his father's murder of Richard III at Bosworth Field in August of 1485: the final battle in the War of the Roses.
Hall and Holinshed made Henry VII look better by making Richard III look worse.
But actually history aside, Reg Rogers is the real alchemy behind this delightful show.
Reg spins malfeasance into charm.
If President Bush could generate the charisma that Reg radiates on stage, then Bush's approval ratings would rocket up to double-digits.
Having witnessed numerous performances of RICHARD III, this reviewer has to confess that none is more enjoyable that what Mark Rucker is currently directing at Cal Shakes.
For a bit of friendly fratricide and fractured history get thee to Bruns Memorial Amphitheater in Orinda.
To reserve tickets, check out the website at www.calshakes.org or call 510-548-9666.
U.S. Naval Aviator and Lieutenant Commander Retired
Math Teacher at Encinal High School A.U.S.D.
San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle
Sidewalk Politician and Arm Chair Liberal
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