Review: RICHARD, MY RICHARD, Shakespeare North Playhouse

Many novelists and playwrights have written about Richard III throughout the centuries, including Shakespeare and more recently, the author Philippa Gregory, whose new play Richard, My Richard, has had its world premiere at the Shakespeare North Playhouse.

As the programme for Richard, My Richard explains, Shakespeare’s Richard III was written for Tudor theatre and had a Tudor influenced narrative, where Richard was characterised as a villain. In the centuries that have followed though, historical records and new discoveries, including the unearthing of Richard’s skeleton in a carpark in Leicester in 2015, have led to a better understanding about Richard III.

In Richard, My Richard, Philippa Gregory re-examines the narrative around Richard III from multiple angles – including what history says about him and how an ‘undead’ Richard III would feel about what history says about him.

Directed by Katie Posner, Gregory’s vision for the story translates well onto the stage, through scenes where Richard (played by Kyle Rowe) is talking to a personified version of History (played by Tom Kanji) about documented events. The narrative is then interwoven with flashbacks of key moments throughout Richard’s life and the lives of the people who surrounded him, to re-examine the narrative.

Tying the narrative together is Kanji’s narrator, History itself, who bounds energetically onto the stage at the beginning of the show and captures your attention from the very start to the finish. However, his lecture to the audience about his role as History is cut short, when he lifts a panel from the stage and comes face to face with Richard III, whose skeleton has just been discovered underneath the car park in Leicester.

This is just one of the many moments where the cast utilise Richard Kent’s brilliantly designed set to clever effect – whether that is lifting a floor panel to create a bed for an unwell King Edward or using the steps to reflect the movement of characters from one location to another for quick scene changes.

It is also apt that Richard, My Richard is performed in a similar setting to that where Shakespeare’s own play would have been performed, with the theatre-in-the-round staging at The Shakespeare North. Although there were moments when the staging meant I could not see some of the cast’s reactions to the scenes, the theatre-in-the-round staging is used well, particularly when all the cast enter from different directions with flags to create the Battle of Bosworth.

Throughout the production, the entire cast deliver engaging performances – including Kyle Rowe’s Richard, whose emotive reactions to what History says has been recorded, shows multiple layers to Richard through Rowe’s performance – particularly his vocal tones and facial expressions. The juxtaposition of Rowe’s serious performance with moments of dry humour in the script are well-timed and well-delivered by Rowe, allowing the tension in some scenes to ease.

Indeed, Gregory’s script has a few knowing nods that left the audience chuckling.  Laura Smithers incredible performance as Margaret saw her deliver the line, “One day, they might write a play about this,” which I thought was a clever touch to the script.

Both this line and the moments where History sat among the audience to watch the replays of events made the audience feel part of the production and re-examining the Richard III narrative themselves – and not just watching a play about Richard III.

There is also some excellent multi-rolling by Tori Burgess as Anne and Henry VII, along with Matt Concannon and Tyler Dobbs as Edward / Thomas Stanley and George / Buckingham, respectively.

One of the best plays you will see this year, Richard, My Richard is an outstanding first production from Philippa Gregory.

Richard, My Richard is at the Shakespeare North Playhouse until March 30 2024.

Photo credit: Patch Dolan