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Richard III: August 2005

In August 2005, The Red Bull Players presented Shakespeare's RICHARD III on the beautiful wooded grounds of Cornell Plantations. The production included a mix of professional and amateur actors from around the community as they presented one of Shakespeare's most exciting plays -- a unique blend of comedy, tragedy, history, battles and swordfights, ghosts, beautiful costumes, and one of the most fascinating villains ever created.

• Performance Schedule
• About the Play
• Cast
• Special Thanks
• The Red Bull Players
• Audience quotes
• Video Clips

Performance schedule:

All performances were held in the Guy Nearing Summerhouse in the beautiful Cornell Plantations. Performance dates were:

• Thursday August 11, 2005 at 6pm
• Friday August 12, 2005 at 6pm
• Saturday August 13, 2005 at 2pm
• Sunday August 14, 2005 at 2pm
• Thursday August 18, 2005 at 6pm
• Friday August 19, 2005 at 6pm
• Saturday August 20, 2005 at 2pm
• Sunday August 21, 2005 at 2pm

For more information, or directions to the Cornell Plantations visit the Cornell Plantations Web site.

About the play

This play dramatizes events that occurred historically between 1471 (the battle of Tewksbury and the crowning of Edward IV) and 1485 (the death of Richard III). It is the culmination of a series of plays dramatizing the struggle between the great families of York and Lancaster for the throne of England, a period of civil war that we now call The Wars of the Roses. Because characters in Richard III often refer back to events covered in earlier plays, we have designed a short introduction that we hope will explain the most important of these previous events and clarify the relationships between the characters.

Shakespeare's history plays, though, are plays first and history second; character and dramatic impact always take priority over historical accuracy. This play has one of the most fascinating characters ever created in Richard III. He can be funny, charming, seductive, pitiful, vicious, or monstrous — and sometimes all of these at the same time. He is a great actor within the play, and his part is of course a great challenge to the actor playing him. And the other characters that surround him are much more than cardboard cutouts — their conflicts with Richard and with each other create a vivid sense of life that fills the entire play.

On the largest scale, though, the primary conflict of this play might be said to be between the characters and the consequences of their own actions. Queen Margaret appears in the play as something of an embodiment of the spirit of vengeance; the ghosts of Richard's victims return to haunt him, either literally or only in his dreams; and the human resistance that eventually defeats Richard is largely a reaction against his actions and the methods by which he achieves his goals. At the same time, Richard's behavior is at least in part also a consequence of his treatment at the hands of others, during a lifetime of constant war. This is not an excuse for the monstrous crimes he commits, but it is a mark of Shakespeare's genius that he gives us in Richard not a simple comic-book monster but a complex human being who commits monstrous acts. And the overarching theme of the consequences of our actions returning to haunt us makes this play not just a great character or historical drama — both of which it unquestionably is — but a great tragedy as well. We hope you enjoy the show.

Cast

Special Thanks:

Melanie Uhlir for all her invaluable assistance; Christopher Bolgiano for his enthusiastic support and all his work on our behalf; all the people at Cornell who worked to make the logistics of this production possible — Biddy Martin, Don Rakow, Kent Goetz, Ann May, Alisa Gardner, Tanya Grove, and many others; Kristin Wolf at Actor's Equity; Chris and Jon of Ring of Steel for all their work on the fights; David Romm for the loan of his timpani.

The Red Bull Players:

The Red Bull Players are an Ithaca theatre group dedicated to the performance of English Renaissance drama — the works of Shakespeare and his contemporaries. Their name is taken from one of the most popular of the public theatres in Renaissance London, the Red Bull. They have been invited to perform at national Shakespeare conferences and as far away as Scotland and India.

This is the third year that the Red Bull Players have offered outdoor Shakespeare performances on the beautiful grounds of Cornell Plantations. These outdoor daylight performances present Shakespeare's works under conditions very similar to those for which they were originally conceived. This year's production is being supported by the Cornell’s Provost Office, in addition to the department of Theatre, Film, and Dance, and Cornell Plantations. We are very grateful for their support this year.

For more information or to get involved, contact Steve Ponton at smp53@cornell.edu.

Audience Quotes:

Here's what audience members said about the opening weekend performances of Richard III:

• "That was awesome."
• "The ghost scene gave me goosebumps."
• "It was wonderful! I was worried that I wouldn't be able to follow it, but I understood everything that was happening."
• "Marvelous!"
• "It was absolutely thrilling."
• "I was stunned."
• "When I heard the play was Richard III, I was afraid it was going to be boring and confusing, but it wasn't either one at all. I loved it!"
• "I loved the choreography - the staging and the use of the site were brilliant."
• "The ghosts were chilling."
• "It gave me shivers."
• "I'm definitely coming back and bringing lots of people."
• "The best summer Shakespeare I've seen in Ithaca."
• "Just fantastic."
• "Everyone in the cast was amazing."
• "Your introduction was brilliant - it made the whole play perfectly clear."
• "I'm amazed at what you've achieved."
• "I'll come see anything you do from now on."

Video clips:

Here are some video clips from the Richard III performances.

• The opening battle between the houses of Lancaster and York
  (mpeg format, 4.3MB).
• The closing battle between Richard and Richmond
  (mpeg format, 2.9MB).