As Shakespeare Festival St. Louis’ new production of The Tragedy of King Richard III unfolded on Monday, guests (young and old) sat attentively on the soggy grounds of Forest Park, still damp from an entire weekend of rain.
The three-hour production flew by as the colorful cast – both figuratively and literally – wrapped themselves around the Bard’s trademark language and refused to let go. Their expressiveness and passion filled in the blanks for anyone lost in translation by the complex phrases woven together to tell how two royal families – and, subsequently, a nation – fall apart at the hands of one man’s lust for power.
While the play’s line count is nearly 4,000, a popular contemporary phrase could sum up the play’s title character, Richard of Gloucester, in three words: He’s got game.
A crippled, unattractive and unfavored brother of the King with the odds stacked against him, Richard uses his smooth tongue and ruthless knack for persuasion to manipulate and murder his way to the throne.
Take, for example, the scene in which he successfully romances the wife of his dead brother in the same breath that he confesses the murder of her beloved. That’s gamy.
As the tragedy unfolds, lives are lost and alliances betrayed as he continues the bloody and calculated trail to the throne – until Richard himself falls victim as a casualty of his own evil plot.
Shakespeare’s stunning eloquence finds many equals in the cast assembled by Shakespeare Festival St. Louis to give voice – and face, shape and action – to the tragedy. From seasoned thespian to neophyte, director Matthew Arbour evidently has challenged each member of the ensemble to make the most of their presence on stage.
The cadences and inflection of the 400-hundred-plus-year-old play have been mastered by nearly the entire cast, ranging from the bit part to the major characters.
Andrew Borba’s Richard was equal parts charismatic and cunning. He showcased his innate chemistry between co-stars as he shifted from scene to scene.
But it was a character with a significantly smaller presence in Richard III who made the most indelible impression on the audience.
Even before she opened her mouth, Claudia Robinson (in the role of Queen Margaret) listened with intention, to provide a clue to the deliciously articulated venom-laced curse that she later offered Richard and his clan.
A queen still bitter as a result of her ouster from power, Robinson’s Margaret left the audiences in awe. Robinson even received a spontaneous round of applause after her first exit on the show’s (soft) opening night last Wednesday. It was very much like an audience applauding the end of a solo in the middle of a song.
Robinson, who was reared in London, employs the brilliantly overstated performance style that is trademark to British actors. From start to finish during her select scenes, Robinson pounced upon the words that made up her monologues and dialogues, giving the play’s most eloquent witness against Richard’s wickedness.
Richard III managed to keep even the youngest of the Ipod generation entertained and is already becoming a buzz around town as a must-see show.
The Shakespeare Festival St. Louis’ production of The Tragedy of King Richard the Third continues through June 15 with 8 p.m. nightly performances – except for Tuesdays. For more information, visit www.sfstl.com or call (314) 531-9800.