A few students, as well as Dr. Bobby, decided to use a free night to go to Richard III. The performance was held in the candlelit Sam Wanamaker Playhouse at The Globe Theatre. Similar to the performance of King John we recently saw, Richard was played by a female actor. Traditionally Richard is depicted as being a hunchback, but in this performance it was almost as if his “deformity” was being a woman. The play follows Richard’s quest for power and eventual fall from grace. Here are a few quotes from all of us about the performance to give you a sense of what we experienced.
“I expected death, but not quite to that extent.” - Garret Baumler
“I love that the only lighting was candles, but then that the actors were still able to seamlessly manipulate that lighting by extinguishing and relighting them.” - Mikaela Hanrahan
“My favorite part was when King Richard killed Duke of Buckingham by biting his neck.”- Clare Rolinger
“I think the reason Richard III is so compelling is because, even in democracy, we love the brutality of his quest for power if we think such a leader represents us.” - Noah Tiegs
“I liked how they made every murder satisfying and funny, but that the most satisfying was of Richard III at the end. Because while you’re on Richard’s side the whole time, in the end you’re happy that he dies.” - Alex Schlesinger
“I never knew murder could be so much fun.” - Jonathan Kuehner
“I do think it’s interesting how much of the war appears to be through the queens. I wonder how much of this is Shakespeare versus the company." - Jonathan Kuehner
“I love that no matter where you sit, the actors play right to you.” - Morgan Fanning
“I never could have imagined the effect of being in a candlelit theatre. It made the entire show seem even more fragile than the characters already exhibited.” - Grace Huber
“It’s incredible how hilarious tyranny can be.” - Noah Tiegs
“I thought it was interesting how Richard had someone else commit each murder except his friend Buckingham.” - Mikaela Hanrahan
“That poor costumer who has to do laundry after this show.” - Claire Twedt
“I enjoy the play between the actor and audience and that reciprocal energy that you can feel feeding off of them. And I feel for this particular show, Richard gets you on her side and kinda ramps you up for murder through the first act. And then she kills some kids and you don’t know anymore so then you get to be on the side of the rebels and help them kill Richard herself.” - Dr. Bobby
All in all, another phenomenal performance that will stick with us for the rest of our lives.