Richard Iii

Of all the monarchs who came under Shakespeare's scrutiny and poetic license, Richard III may be the least likable — and most riveting. Like some evil version of the hobbling, stuttering Roman emperor Claudius, Richard was "cheated of feature by dissembling nature, deform'd, unfinish'd, sent before my time into this breathing world, scarce half made up. " Where Claudius was too shy to seek the throne and turned out to be a fairly decent...

The title character in "Richard III" qualifies as the most evil villain in any of Shakespeare's plays, which is no small accomplishment. This 15th-century English monarch killed so many members of his immediate family in his ruthless quest to ensure that nobody else sat on his throne that it's difficult to keep the bloody score. Chesapeake Shakespeare Company's muscular and mobile staging of "Richard III" places as much emphasis on Richard's violent deeds as on his equally volatile words.

The title character in "Richard III" qualifies as the most evil villain in any of Shakespeare's plays, which is no small accomplishment. This 15th-century English monarch killed so many members of his immediate family in his ruthless quest to ensure that nobody else sat on his throne that it's difficult to keep the bloody score. Chesapeake Shakespeare Company's muscular and mobile staging of "Richard III" places as much emphasis on Richard's violent deeds as on his equally volatile words.

Given recent talk of "Second Amendment remedies" to advance certain political agendas, the kind of bloodthirsty, power-hungry machinations in Shakespeare's "Richard III" don't seem so terribly far removed from our own time. That point is underlined in the Baltimore Shakespeare Festival's energetic updating of the epic play, where the man who would stop at nothing to be king makes his entrance at what looks like a political rally, camera crews hanging on his every insincere word.

Now is the winter of our discontent. Right now.Now is the winter of women claimed by stray bullets as they walk to corner stores, the winter of another year in which Baltimore records more than 300 slayings, the barren season for a police department that justifies paralysis by spending thousands of dollars to study its problems, as if the problems weren't obvious to any sergeant with five years on the street.So have we set the stage for the last act of this fine morality play, this drama that bears the unlikely title of "Linwood Rudolph Williams."

Washington -- Watching Sir Ian McKellen's portrayal of Richard III in the Royal National Theatre's production of Shakespeare's play is a little like looking at the photographs Diane Arbus used to take of freaks.While we are always aware of the monarch's deformities, we are equally aware of his attempts to conceal them. The withered hand is tucked into a pocket; the hunchback is minimized by the expert tailoring of this updated production's military uniforms and evening clothes. And though the limp and a "Phantom of the Opera"-like grossly asymmetrical hairline are constant reminders of the character's freakishness, he appears, like Arbus' subjects, defiantly proud, determined to be normal.

He wears a severely tailored military uniform with an equally severe expression on his face. Even the way he smokes a cigarette suggests the very model of a modern major dictator.And yet, the leader Sir Ian McKellen portrays in this garb is a 15th century British monarch -- Richard III, as seen through the eyes of William Shakespeare."When we did the play in Romania recently, the audience thought it was all about Ceausescu. When we did it in Hamburg, they thought it was the Third Reich, and people say, have I based my performance on Saddam Hussein?

LONDON -- In the war between art and history, in the matter of King Richard III, art is still winning.It is winning because of lines like these, from Lord Hastings as he is led away to his death:O bloody Richard! miserable England!I prophesy the fearfull'st time to theeThat ever wretched age hath look'd upon.Come, lead me to the block; bear him my head:They smile at me that shortly shall be dead.Then Ian McKellen, dressed in a protofascist uniform, limping and crooked, the ideal of cheerful treachery, slouches forth on the stage of the Royal National Theatre.

The Shakespeare Theatre at the Folger's "Richard III" is an odd blend of blood bath and British music hall.The music hall element derives from Stacy Keach's fascinating but highly idiosyncratic performance in the title role. Delivering his soliloquies almost like stand-up comedy routines, Mr. Keach portrays Richard as if he were the comic narrator of his own tragic story.Denied many of life's pleasures because of his physical deformities, he takes pleasure in villainy instead. Conquest -- whether of women or thethrone -- is sport to him, and he exults in letting the audience in on each upcoming move.

In the second scene of Shakespeare's "Richard III," the play's villainous hero, succeeds in a matter of minutes in seducing Lady Anne, whose young husband he has recently murdered, over the even more recent corpse of her beloved father-in-law. When the unfortunate woman leaves the stage, Richard turns to the audience and exults:"Was ever woman in this humor woo'd?Was ever woman in this humor won?I'll have her, but I will not keep her long."When Ian McKellen spoke those lines Tuesday night at the Kennedy Center at the Washington premiere of the Royal National Theatre of Great Britain production of the play, much of the audience laughed.

Of all the monarchs who came under Shakespeare's scrutiny and poetic license, Richard III may be the least likable — and most riveting. Like some evil version of the hobbling, stuttering Roman emperor Claudius, Richard was "cheated of feature by dissembling nature, deform'd, unfinish'd, sent before my time into this breathing world, scarce half made up. " Where Claudius was too shy to seek the throne and turned out to be a fairly decent...

In Richard III at Washington's Shakespeare Theatre, everything is off kilter. The set, designed by Lee Savage, slants in one direction, and the floor slants in the other. As the duplicitous title character, Geraint Wyn Davies looks normal from one side and disfigured from the other -- clubfoot, withered arm, hunchback and a face in dire need of a Phantom of the Opera mask. RICHARD III / / Through March 18 at the Shakespeare Theatre, 450 7th St. N.W., Washington -- $19-$76.25. 877-487-8849 or shakespearetheatre.

On July 15, 2006, FRED E., beloved son of the late Richard R. and Evelyn Brophy, dear brother of Richard, William and his wife Debbie, uncle of Richard III, and William Brophy Jr. Graveside Services will be held on Tuesday at 1 P.M. in Cedar Hill Cemetery. Arrangements by Gonce Funeral Service.

When you hear that a puppeteer and a New Vaudeville clown are performing a cabaret-style adaptation of Richard III, only one area theater should come to mind. No, it's not the Baltimore Shakespeare Festival or the Chesapeake Shakespeare Company, and certainly not Washington's Shakespeare Theatre. This must be the Theatre Project, the place that brought us a one-man Tempest (an actor, a doll and a Bic lighter) and a non-verbal Bulgarian puppet rendition of Romeo and Juliet. The current show is Richard 3.5: Light Ruminations on Murder.

An informal poll of students in advanced English class at Edgewood High School recently revealed that many of them recognize the passage "All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players." But a majority of the seniors couldn't identify that it comes from As You Like It by William Shakespeare. Whether a passion for Shakespeare is meant to be, Beth Hoffman, who teaches the class, said she worries about whether students are getting enough Shakespeare, which bolsters her determination to make sure they leave school with more than a rudimentary knowledge of his work.

On December 11, 2004, JOHN WILLIAM, beloved son of Richard and Kelly Ann Bannon; loving brother of Jessica Bannon and Richard E. Bannon Jr.; dear grandson of Dolores and Bill Simpson and June Bannon; great grandson of Marie Simpson; cherished uncle of Alex, Dillon, Richard III, Summer and Emily Elizabeth. Friends may call at the CONNELLY FUNERAL HOME OF DUNDALK, P.A., 7110 Sollers Point Rd, on Tuesday and Wednesday 3 to 5 and 7 to 9 P.M. Funeral Services will be held on Thursday at 10 A.M. Interment Dulaney Valley Memorial Gardens.

HOLLYWOOD -- A film that archivists believe to be the oldest complete American feature, a 1912 version of Shakespeare's "Richard III," has been been given to the American Film Institute in near-perfect condition. The print had been stored for more than 30 years in the basement of a former theater projectionist in Portland, Ore.Produced three years before D.W. Griffith's Civil War epic, "The Birth of a Nation," "Richard III" was long thought by film historians to be lost. The film, starring Frederick Warde, a popular Shakespearean actor of the day, was the second feature produced in the United States.

In Richard III at Washington's Shakespeare Theatre, everything is off kilter. The set, designed by Lee Savage, slants in one direction, and the floor slants in the other. As the duplicitous title character, Geraint Wyn Davies looks normal from one side and disfigured from the other -- clubfoot, withered arm, hunchback and a face in dire need of a Phantom of the Opera mask. RICHARD III / / Through March 18 at the Shakespeare Theatre, 450 7th St. N.W., Washington -- $19-$76.25. 877-487-8849 or shakespearetheatre.

On December 11, 2003 RICHARD A. LIDINSKY, SR., beloved husband of Angela M. (nee Miller); devoted father of Richard A. Jr., Mark L., Frank G. Lidinsky and Mary A. Mahoney; dear brother of Charles J. Lidinsky; loving grandfather of Richard III, Matthew J., Beth and John Lidinsky, Patrick, Kyle and Dennis Mahoney. Friends may call at the family owned Leonard J. Ruck Inc. Funeral Home, 5305 Harford Rd (at Echodale) on Saturday and Sunday from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 P.M. A Funeral Mass will be celebrated at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen on Monday 10 A.M. Interment Most Holy Redeemer Cemetery.

WILLIAM L. RICHARDS, III "BILL", Age 54, LtCol USAF (Ret.) of McLean, VA on Sunday, October 12, 2003 at his residence. Beloved husband of Audrey A. Ammons; son of Mary Ellen Richards, of Dayton, OH and William L. Richards, Jr. of Columbia, MD; step-son of Frances M. Richards, of Columbia, MD; brother of Ruth Richards, Barbara Lewis, Rebecca Wells, Elizabeth Richards of Columbia, MD and Lynne Richards and uncle of James, Parker, Jacob, Joshua and Saunder....