Saturday, October 03, 2009
Review: Chicago Shakespeare Theatre’s “Richard III”
Chicago Theater Blog: "Richard III is among Shakespeare’s earliest and most enduring successes and Richard, Duke of Gloucester and later King of England, perhaps his most thoroughly evil character. Despite the ingratiating manner he can turn off and on at will, Richard’s heart is as ugly and twisted as his body is deformed. Trusting no one, and thinking of nothing but his own gain, he is by turns vicious, conniving, dishonest – and utterly fascinating to audiences since Shakespeare’s colleague Richard Burbage first stepped onto the stage to declaim, 'Now is the winter of our discontent/Made glorious summer by this son of York.'"
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7 comments:
Finally a review that talks about the performance and not the fame of the actors! It seems every review i read is either about some famous actor coming to the stage, and becomes more a filmography rather than an actual play review. That aside, this production of Richard III looks very intriguing and interesting. It's refreshing to see Shakespeare simply done and without the need to glam it up or make it something "modern". There's nothing wrong with this technical decision, it just feels that right now its the "popular" thing to do. That in itself is a bad reason for making that decision. It really seems the technical decisions made serve to enhance the show, not try and glam it up.
I've read about several productions of this play in the past few years, particularly about one that starred actress Fiona Shaw as Richard III, and ever since then, I have wanted to see the play. I'm excited that we're doing it this year and can't wait to see it. I like so many of Shakespeare's plays, but somehow, his more historical plays like this one are not as widely known as the rest of his work.
I agree with Mary. It's nice that this review actually focuses on the quality of the production rather than the fame of the actors. When they go on and on about the fame of the actors it detracts from the value of the show. The set of the show sounds interesting. I wish they would have provided a picture of the set.
I was really interested in reading this article because I was an intern at this theatre over summer, and I sat in on the design launch with the director and designers. I am really pleased to see that they got their point across in regards to the women of the play. During the design launch the women were discussed and the team came to the conclusion that they would be the gentle backbone of the play. I'm glad to see that the message was received.
I was really interested in reading this article because I was an intern at this theatre over summer, and I sat in on the design launch with the director and designers. I am really pleased to see that they got their point across in regards to the women of the play. During the design launch the women were discussed and the team came to the conclusion that they would be the gentle backbone of the play. I'm glad to see that the message was received.
This is a fantastically written review. It doesn't try to be overly dramatic and it cleanly addresses all the major points of the show. As usual I enjoy reading about set descriptions and what works and what didn't but this is one of the first times that it didn't bother me. RICHARD III is a fantastic play and I was wish I could see this production.
What was also interesting is how this review can effect us. Richard III is being done here next semester and I can already see what some issues we may have with our production.
Usually I think Critics are entirely pointless but this reviewer is sincere, pointed and genuinely intelligent. I wish more reviews were like this.
This article is really great. I enjoyed reading about the actual characters in the play and how the actors deal with playing these roles. As many others have commented, it is a very well written review. It was refreshing to read about the costume, set, and lighting designs in this review. So many articles only mention the actors. The other great thing was that the designer's work was actually some what described.
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