Richard III (35 page)
Authors: William Shakespeare
OF ENGLAND: From the
History Plays to
Shakespeare’s Lifetime
| | Lifespan | Reign |
| Angevins: | | |
| Henry II | 1133–1189 | 1154–1189 |
| Richard I | 1157–1199 | 1189–1199 |
| John | 1166–1216 | 1199–1216 |
| Henry III | 1207–1272 | 1216–1272 |
| Edward I | 1239–1307 | 1272–1307 |
| Edward II | 1284–1327 | 1307–1327 deposed |
| Edward III | 1312–1377 | 1327–1377 |
| Richard II | 1367–1400 | 1377–1399 deposed |
| Lancastrians: | | |
| Henry IV | 1367–1413 | 1399–1413 |
| Henry V | 1387–1422 | 1413–1422 |
| Henry VI | 1421–1471 | 1422–1461 and 1470–1471 |
| Yorkists: | | |
| Edward IV | 1442–1483 | 1461–1470 and 1471–1483 |
| Edward V | 1470–1483 | 1483 not crowned: deposed and assassinated |
| Richard III | 1452–1485 | 1483–1485 |
| Tudors: | | |
| Henry VII | 1457–1509 | 1485–1509 |
| Henry VIII | 1491–1547 | 1509–1547 |
| Edward VI | 1537–1553 | 1547–1553 |
| Jane | 1537–1554 | 1553 not crowned: deposed and executed |
| Mary I | 1516–1558 | 1553–1558 |
| Philip of Spain | 1527–1598 | 1554–1558 co-regent with Mary |
| Elizabeth I | 1533–1603 | 1558–1603 |
| Stuart: | | |
| James I | 1566–1625 | 1603–1625 James VI of Scotland (1567–1625) |
HISTORIES: A Chronology
Square brackets indicate events that happen just outside a play’s timescale but are mentioned in the play.
AND VIEWING
CRITICAL APPROACHES
Brooke, Nicholas,
Shakespeare’s Early Tragedies
(1968). Strong on tragic structure.
Burns, Edward,
Richard III
(2001). Brief but stimulating study in series published for the British Council.
Clemen, Wolfgang,
A Commentary on Shakespeare’s Richard III
(1957), trans. Jean Bonheim (1968). Good on language and imagery.
Marienstras, Richard, “Of a Monstrous Body,” in
French Essays on Shakespeare and His Contemporaries
, ed. Jean-Marie Maguin and Michèle Willems (1995), pp. 153–74. Cultural-historical analysis of significance of Richard’s deformed body.
Moseley, Charles,
Shakespeare: Richard III. A Critical Study
(1989). High-class student guide.
Neill, Michael, “Shakespeare’s Halle of Mirrors: Play, Politics, and Psychology in
Richard III,” Shakespeare Studies
8 (1975), pp. 99–129. From adaptation of sources to Richard’s psychological complexity.
Rackin, Phyllis,
Stages of History: Shakespeare’s English Chronicles
(1990). Particularly strong on the women.
Richmond, Hugh,
“Richard III
and the Reformation,”
Journal of English and Germanic Philology
83 (1984), pp. 509–21. Examines religious vocabulary and debates.
Rossiter, A. P.,
Angel with Horns and Other Shakespeare Lectures
(1961). Sane, balanced.
Saccio, Peter,
Shakespeare’s English Kings: History, Chronicle, and Drama
(19 77). Handy comparison with sources and actual history.
Brooke, Michael,
“Richard III
on Screen,”
www.screenonline.org.uk/tv/id/1022653/index.html
. Valuable overview of film and TV versions.
Day, Gillian,
King Richard III
, Shakespeare at Stratford (2002). Survey of productions.
Hankey, Julie, ed.,
King Richard III
, Plays in Performance (1981). Innovative edition annotated by means of reference to choices of actors and productions down the ages.
Holland, Peter,
English Shakespeares: Shakespeare on the English Stage in the 1990s
(1997). Discusses key modern productions.
Jackson, Russell, and Robert Smallwood, eds.,
Players of Shakespeare 3 (
1993). Includes interview with Penny Downie on playing Margaret in the
Henry VI/Richard III
tetralogy.
O’Connor, John,
Shakespearean Afterlives: Ten Characters with a Life of Their Own
(2003). Lively account of some historic Richards.
Richmond, Hugh M.,
King Richard III
, Shakespeare in Performance (1989). Useful overview.
Royal Shakespeare Company, “Exploring Shakespeare:
Richard III,”
www.rsc.org.uk/explore/plays/richard3.htm
. Rehearsal footage, actor and director interviews, commentary on Michael Boyd’s 2007 production.
Shakespeare Birthplace Trust Study Materials,
Richard III in Performance
by Rebecca Brown,
www.shakespeare.org.uk/content/view/315/315/
.
Sher, Antony,
Year of the King
(1985). Compelling diary of a great actor describing what it is like to play the role of Richard.
Smallwood, Robert, ed.,
Players of Shakespeare 4
(1998) and 6 (2004). Each volume contains an interview with an actor talking about playing Richard.
For a more detailed Shakespeare bibliography and selections from a wide range of critical accounts of the play, with linking commentary, visit the edition website,
www.therscshakespeare.com
.
Richard III
, directed by F. R. Benson (1911), on
Silent Shakespeare
(DVD 2004). Brief tableaux from a very early film version.
Richard III
, directed by Laurence Olivier (1955, DVD 2006). Also starring Olivier. Shaped the image of Richard for two generations.
The Wars of the Roses
(tx. 22 April 1965), directed by Peter Hall, with text adapted by John Barton. BBC television version of a highly influential project of the RSC in its early years, with Ian Holm as Richard and Peggy Ashcroft as Margaret. Only available in specialist archives such as the British Film Institute in London.
Richard III
, directed by Jane Howell (BBC Television Shakespeare, 1983, DVD 2004). Nearly four hours long, due to a very full text, in contrast to the heavy cutting of all other filmed versions. Less successful than the three parts of
Henry VI
by the same director, which were an unexpected highlight of the BBC series.
Richard III
in
Shakespeare: The Animated Tales
(joint BBC/Russian television production, 1994, DVD 2007). High-quality cartoon abbreviation, notable in that Richard is voiced by Antony Sher, whose legendary 1984 RSC stage production is not available on screen.
Richard III
, directed by Richard Loncraine (1995, DVD 2000). Developed from the McKellen/Eyre National Theatre production. Brilliant transposition to Fascist 1930s setting: a definitive modern revisioning, rendering Olivier into a period piece.
Looking for Richard
, directed by Al Pacino (1996, DVD 2005). Quirky but illuminating “metaproduction” in which Pacino explores his fascination with the role and the play, assisted by actors and academics, including Kevin Spacey excellent as Buckingham.
1.
Quoted in E. K. Chambers,
William Shakespeare
(2 vols, 1930), 2.212.
2.
Stanley Wells, “Television Shakespeare,”
Shakespeare Quarterly
, 33 (1982), pp. 261–73 (p. 266).
3.
Thomas Davies,
Dramatic Miscellanies
(3 vols, 1784), 3.440–42.
4.
Thomas Davies,
Memoirs of the Life of David Garrick
(2 vols, 1780, repr. 1969), 1.40.
5.
Davies, “Mr. Garrick’s First Appearance on a London Stage” in his
Life of David Garrick
, 1.37–50
6.
Julie Hankey,
Plays in Performance: Richard III
(London: Junction Books, 1981), p. 42.
7.
William Hazlitt, review in
A View of the English Stage; or, A Series of Dramatic Criticisms
(1818), pp. 5–9.
8.
London Green, “ ‘The Gaiety of Meditated Success’: The Richard III of William Charles Macready,”
Theater Research International
10 (1985), pp. 107–28 (p. 125).
9.
Review of
Richard III, The Athenaeum
, 26 December 1896.
10.
Review of
Richard III, The Times
, 3 November 1937.
11.
Donald Wolfit,
First Interval: The Autobiography of Donald Wolfit
(1954), p. 205.
12.
J. C. Trewin, review of
Richard III, The Observer
, 17 September 1944.
13.
Kenneth Tynan, “Heroic Acting Since 1944,” in
He That Plays the King: A View of the Theatre
(1950), pp. 32–113.
14.
Sheridan Morley, “A Breath of Fresh Air,”
New Statesman
, 30 June 2003.
15.
Hugh M. Richmond,
King Richard III
, Shakespeare in Performance (1989), p. 142.
16.
Peter Hall, program notes to
Edward IV
[second play of the trilogy, drawn from parts 2 and 3 of
Henry VI
], RSC, 1963.
17.
Milton Shulman,
Evening Standard
, 21 August 1963.
18.
Ian Richardson on playing Richard III, in Judith Cook,
Shakespeare’s Players (
1983).
19.
Richardson on playing Richard III.
20.
Benedict Nightingale, New
Statesman
, 24 April 1970.
21.
S. P. Cerasano,
Shakespeare Quarterly
36 (1985).
22.
John O’Connor,
Shakespearean Afterlives
(2003), p. 113.
23.
John Peter,
Sunday Times
, 24 June 1984.
24.
Interview with Simon Russell Beale by Peter Lewis,
Sunday Times
, 2 August 1992.
25.
Irving Wardle,
Independent on Sunday
, 16 August 1992.
26.
Paul Taylor, Independent, 13 August 1992.
27.
Benedict Nightingale,
Times
, 13 August 1992.
28.
Irving Wardle,
Times
, 5 November 1980.
29.
Michael Billington,
Guardian
, 5 November 1980.
30.
Julie Hankey,
Times Literary Supplement
, 14 November 1980.
31.
David Troughton, “Richard III,” in
Players of Shakespeare 4
, ed. Robert Smallwood (1998).
32.
Anton Lesser, “Richard of Gloucester,” in
Players of Shakespeare 3
, ed. Russell Jackson and Robert Smallwood (1993).
33.
Henry Goodman, “Richard III,” in
Players of Shakespeare 6
, ed. Robert Smallwood (2004).
34.
Goodman, “Richard III.”
35.
Benedict Nightingale,
New Statesman
, 24 April 1970.
36.
D. A. N. Jones,
Listener
, 23 April 1970.
37.
Irving Wardle,
Independent on Sunday
, 16 August 1992.
38.
Henry Goodman on his portrayal of Richard III,
Richard III Online Playguide
,
www.rsc.org.uk/richard/current/home.html
.
39.
Susannah Clapp,
Observer
, 27 July 2003.
40.
Benedict Nightingale,
Times
, 25 July 2003.
41.
Troughton, “Richard III.”
42.
Cerasano,
Shakespeare Quarterly
36.
43.
David Starkey,
Times Literary Supplement
, 28 August 1992.
44.
Troughton, “Richard III.”
45.
Goodman, “Richard III.”
46.
Peter Holland,
English Shakespeares
(1997), p. 2 31.
47.
Lesser, “Richard of Gloucester.”
48.
Hankey,
Times Literary Supplement
, 14 November 1980.
49.
Lesser, “Richard of Gloucester.”
50.
Lisa Stevenson on playing Lady Anne,
Richard III Online Playguide
,
www.rsc.org.uk/richard/current/home.html
.
51.
Katherine Duncan-Jones,
Times Literary Supplement
, 11 May 2001.
52.
Taylor,
Independent
, 13 August 1992.
53.
Wardle,
Times
, 5 November 1980.
54.
B. A. Young,
Financial Times
, 5 November 1980.
55.
Nightingale,
New Statesman
, 24 April 1970.
56.
Katherine Duncan-Jones,
Times Literary Supplement
, 11 November 2001.
57.
R. Chris Hassel Jr.,
Shakespeare Quarterly
36 (1985).
58.
Penny Downie, “Queen Margaret,” in
Players of Shakespeare 3
.
59.
Andrew St. George,
Financial Times
, 13 August 1992.
60.
Taylor,
Independent
, 13 August 1992.
61.
Taylor,
Independent
, 13 August 1992.
62.
Sean Holmes on directing the RSC’s 2003 production,
Richard III Online Playguide
,
www.rsc.org.uk/richard/current/home.html
.
63.
Lesser, “Richard of Gloucester.”
64.
Troughton, “Richard III.”
65.
Hassel, Jr.,
Shakespeare Quarterly
36.
66.
Charles Spencer,
Daily Telegraph
, 27 April 2001.
67.
Barbara Hodgdon, “The RSC’s ‘Long Sonata of the Dead’: Shakespeare-history and Imagined Community,” in
Re-visions of Shakespeare
, ed. Evelyn Gajowski (2004), p. 77.
68.
Michael Billington,
Guardian
, 5 November 1980.
69.
Paul Taylor,
Independent
, 30 October 1998.
70.
Jones,
Listener
, 23 April 1970.