This adaptation of Richard III reimagines the story of the rise and fall of Richard, Duke of Gloucester as a gangster thriller. The conceit is that the Yorks and the Lancasters are rival families, with Richard (Stanley Thomas) determined to scheme his way to the top. Exploiting the recent infighting between the families, Richard plots to get King Edward off the throne and seize it for himself.

I enjoyed the gangland concept, but felt it was somewhat unevenly executed. The set is well designed, with a kind of ‘80s barroom aesthetic, but also somewhat static, since almost all the action takes place in a single room doing multiple duty for many locations. About half the characters had a suit-and-tie Mafia-esque look, while the other half sported obnoxiously loud clothing, more like gangsters who were aiming to get noticed. I really liked some of the costumes, especially Richard’s combination of a leather jacket and a gaudy shirt, but on the whole I found the mix of the two aesthetics somewhat confusing.

Another thing I had mixed feelings about was director Aaron Kilercioglu’s choice to stage the final, climactic battle as a bar fight. I liked the energy it brought to the scene, which is usually just a boring swordfight between Richard and the Duke of Richmond, as well as the excellent fight choreography, in particular at the end (I won’t give away any details). But I felt the upbeat music that was playing was somewhat at odds with the gravity of the battle – it is, after all, Richard’s tragic end.

Although I am aware that Richard III is a very long play that is usually cut at one point or another, I was still somewhat surprised to see Kilercioglu cut the famous scene where Richard is visited by the ghosts of his victims on the eve of battle. (In all fairness I suspect it was cut because double-casting made it too difficult to stage, but I was still a little sad that one of my favourite scenes had been cut.) Apart from that omission, however, I think the script was in a good spot: not too long, as I never felt like I was getting bored, but also long enough that most of the important exposition got across to the audience.

"although I enjoyed both the gangster-thriller and Shakespearian elements of the production, I wasn’t quite sure how well they meshed together"

The first act was the most fun part of the play, mainly because Richard gets to establish a personal connection with the audience through many long, amusingly cynical and sometimes even genuinely funny asides. Thomas plays Richard very well in this first part of the show, getting the audience firmly on his side despite not bothering to hide his amorality and evil intentions. I was also very impressed with his physicality throughout the show. 

The supporting cast is large, coming in at 18 actors (and still not nearly large enough to avoid double-casting), but all put in very commendable performances. Joe Tyley-Todd as King Edward and Ella Blackburn as Lady Anne stood out for me, especially Todd, who had an extremely convincing dying-old-man cough, and played Edward believably and movingly.

On the whole, although I enjoyed both the gangster-thriller and Shakespearian elements of the production, I wasn’t quite sure how well they meshed together. Kilercioglu’s version of Richard III nevertheless manages to be worth watching and inspires at least some food for thought.