Remarks on Richard III
Richard III is one of the most frequently performed Shakespearean plays, yet it is the fourth play of a tetrology and therefore relies heavily on the history detailed in the earlier three plays (Henry VI, part 1; Henry VI, part 2; and Henry VI, part 3). Your text is more heavily footnoted than other plays that you have read, and unless you are very familiar with English history of the fifteenth century, you will from time to time be confused about who is or was whom. These obstacles notwithstanding, Richard III provides some of the greatest scenes and greatest lines found in Shakespeare's works. It provides a wonderful venue for actors and actresses to demonstrate the full range of their dramatic ability. An excellent film was made in the mid 1990s by Al Pacino, Looking For Richard, which explores in a very contemporary way the difficulties an actor, and an entire acting company, must wrestle with to bring an effective production of this play to a modern audience unfamiliar with the complicated monarchial history of late fifteenth century England. A famous British actor, Ian McKellen also made a recent film of Richard III using a modern set with jeeps, tanks, and machine guns to provide a 20th Century interpretation of this medieval play.