Billed as ‘a visceral, dark tale of ambition’, this production gives that and then some. Richard III is one of Shakespeare’s longest play and in my experience is always cut back. Here, Nicolas Peres Costa has reduced five acts to one 90 minute play of high drama.
In the pruning, much courtly intrigue is lost, at no cost to the play, but what is revealed was always there, now put centre stage for a modern audience. This is the trading of women in the marriage market for political power, even down to Queen Elizabeth being expected to sacrifice her daughter to matrimony with Richard after he has already killed her two sons.
The play’s full title is The Tragedy of Richard III and, though it fits into the canon of Shakespeare’s histories, its mainspring is tragic. Like Macbeth, it starts with a witch’s curse where the Duke of Clarence, played with delightfully innocent bonhomie by Tom Longmire, is carted off to prison because of a prediction that the kingdom will fall to someone whose name begins with a G. As his given name is George, his guilt is a logical conclusion.
We have of course already seen Richard of Gloucester parading his ambition in the famous soliloquy where he proclaims himself the rising son of the House of York.
In a new presentation of this famous role we are looking for something extraordinary and Perez Costa give sit to us. His twitching, grimacing Richard, mopping his dribbling mouth, is magnificent in its defiance of his disability: he will not let it define him. Richard’s vulnerability is highlighted throughout by Perez Costa’s bare-chested portrayal, while all the other characters are richly dressed, until Richad becomes king and is then draped in a glamorous military-style uniform.
There are some fine performances here, notably from Tricia Hitchcock as Buckingham and Julia Rose Lisa as Lady Anne; both match Perez Costa’s Richard in complex scenes of humiliation and betrayal.
The is an energetic, physical presentation set to majestic music for the court and drum beats for threat. Shakespeare’s productions had few props or elaborate sets, but rich costumes, a tradition this version follows. The costumes, which deserve an award, are resplendent in gold-coloured metallic threads, sequins, fur, leather, velvet and black lace.
Richard accuses his enemies of using witchcraft against him and he dreams on the night before the Battle of Bosworth of those he has murdered, who come to curse him. This is powerfully presented in a production where there is more Gothic than Tudor, with white faces and black makeup which would not look out of place at the Whitby Goth Weekend.
Creative staging includes a dark stage with characters illuminated by torches and the tour de force: a horse constructed for Richard’s battle scene from the drums and ladders which make up the set. With this quite monumentally inspiring scene comes a realisation: Richard in this production does not have full use of his lower limbs, though he is very dexterous. Once a horse has taken the role of his legs, he is more than a match for anyone on the field, he appears elevated, a genuinely heroic figure, riding to his doom.
Theatre: The Cockpit
Playwright: William Shakespeare adapted by Nicolas Perez Costa
Directed by: Nicolas Perez Costa
Cast includes: Nicolas Perez Costa, Marta Carvalho, Tricia Hitchcock, Juliet Prew, Hugo Coello, Mathew Miles, Julia Rose Lisa, Tom Longmuir
Duration: 90 minutes
Until: 11 July 2026