Richard III (Druid Theater@ Gerald Lynch Theater) by William Shakespeare #DruidShakespeare #RIII

Richard is one of Shakespeare’s most shocking villains and in this glorious production from Ireland’s Druid Theatre Company, one of his most compelling.  It is almost impossible to take your eyes off of Aaron Monaghan’s Richard.  I have seen this play many times but until this production I have never found the scene in which Richard successfully woos Lady Anne (a terrific Siobhan Cullen) over the body of her husband, murdered at his hand, convincing. 

Mr. Monaghan’s Richard is so charismatic that you want to believe he is other than that which he freely admits to being.  His asides to the audience (in which Shakespearean characters always tell the  truth) show you the monster, which has little to do with the deformaties of his body and everything to do with the deformaties of his spirit, his soul and his heart.  Mr. Monaghan contorts his voice, as well as his body.  His speech moves freely between sly, suggestive, humorously sarcastic, wheedling, furious and whiny.  He uses inflection and tone with alacrity; deftly maneuvers the canes on which he gimps along and manipulates masterfully almost every other character in the play.

Garry Hynes’ brilliant direction makes this production as rich and complex as an antique tapestry. She brings to the fore the humor, the heartbreak and the heinous acts of the complicated and corrosive Richard.

The entire casts is stellar. I found Jane Brennan’s Queen Elizabeth, Marie Mullen’s Queen Margaret and Ingrid Craigie’s Duchess of York to be a trio of formidable females. I adored the chemistry between Mr. Monaghan’s Richard and both characters, Clarence and Catesby played by Marty Rea.  I loved these two actors in Druid’s production of Waiting for Godot and the ease with which they worked together in that show is present here.

Mr. Rea’s Clarence is a sweet naif, absolutely incapable of believing that his brother would wish him anything but the best.  His Catesby is a cold-blooded killer, carrying out Richard’s ugly whims with a nonchalance that sends a chill running down the spine.

Francis O’Connor’s set is simplicity exemplified and his wonderful costumes contain over-the-top elements that glitter,sparkle and are a marked contrast to the stark surroundings.

There is not one thing about this production that isn’t perfection.  I hope that Lincoln Center’s #WhiteLightFestival continues to bring Druid to New York.  If not, I will be heading to Ireland in order to see them.