Richard III by William Shakespeare, directed by Miles Potter – until September 25, Stratford Shakespeare Festival, Stratford, Ontario, by Daniel B. Gallagher


Seana McKenna as King Richard III at Stratford, Ontario. Photo Stratford Shakespeare Festivall/Daivd Hou.

Richard III
by William Shakespeare

Director – Miles Potter
Designer – Peter Hartwell
Lighting Designer – Kevin Fraser
Composer – Marc Desormeaux

Cast:
King Edward IV – David Ferry
Queen Elizabeth – Yanna McIntosh
Prince Edward, later King Edward V – Teddy Gough
George, Duke of Clarence – Michael Spencer-Davis
Richard, Duke of Gloucester, later King Richard III – Seana McKenna
Duchess of York – Roberta Maxwell
Lady Anne – Bethany Jillard
Anthony Woodville, Lord Rivers – David Collins
Marquess of Dorset – E. B. Smith
Lord Grey – Dion Johnstone
William, Lord Hastings – Nigel Bennett
Lord Stanley – Andrew Gillies
Duke of Buckingham – Wayne Best
Sir William Catesby – Sean Arbuckle
Sir Richard Ratcliffe – Oliver Becker
Duke of Norfolk – Skye Brandon
Sir James Tyrrel – Paul Fauteux
Thomas, Earl of Surrey – Paul Fauteux
Murderer – Shane Carty
Henry, Earl of Richmond – Gareth Potter
Earl of Oxford – David Ferry
Sir James Blunt – David Collins
Sir Walter Herbert – Shane Carty
Cardinal Bourchier – Cyrus Lane
Archbishop – Brendan Murray
Sir Robert Brakenbury – Brude Godfree
Lord Mayor of London – Shane Carty
Scrivener – Cyrus Lane
Citizens – Laura Condlln, Carmen Grant, and Claire Lautier

In 1953, the town of Stratford, Ontario inaugurated its annual Shakespeare Festival with this very play directed by Tyrone Guthrie and starring Alec Guinness. This year Seana McKenna takes on the title role, adding—as husband and director Miles Potter explains—“one more layer of artifice on Richard.” With over twenty years of experience at Stratford, McKenna hardly needs an excuse to play the part. Yet I understand the public’s demand for an explanation.

In this case, explanations are legion. Artistic Director Des McAnuff notes that men routinely played female roles in Elizabethan times and that gender confusion is a common Shakespearean device (Stratford’s 2011 playbill also features Twelfth Night). General Director Antoni Cimolino adds a political slant by suggesting that McKenna is the Richard whom Shakespeare could never have cast but would have liked to, seeing as Queen Elizabeth had set up a police state not dissimilar to the one King Richard III employed. McKenna herself points out that we need look no further than Karla Homolka to see that women are just as capable of committing unspeakable evils as men.

Read the full review on the Berkshire Review, an International journal for the Arts!







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