BakerShake's Richard III a true thriller

By Brian Reinhart     3/13/08 7:00pm

Shakespeare's play Richard III begins and ends with tremendous swordfights and bloody deaths, but the intense psychological drama that plays out in between is even more gripping in this new production by the Baker Shakespeare company. A strong cast featuring numerous Rice alumni and employees excels in the chilling Baker College performance.The play itself depicts the scheming of Richard, Duke of Gloucester (Baker associate Joseph Lockett, Hanszen '91), a physically deformed nobleman whose ambition is to become King of England. He is determined to do so by any means and cruelly divides the other nobles into rival factions before killing them all. Richard's motives are not made clear until he has already murdered several of his foes, adding an element of psychological mystery to the play's early stages.

The production, directed by Baker junior Katy Mulvaney, features some clever ideas which make the play's visual element even more engaging. During the massive opening swordfight, Richard enters abruptly through a pit in the center of the stage, the same pit into which the dead bodies of his victims will be thrown in later scenes. Aside from the hole, the only adornment upon the bleak set is a stern, unwelcoming royal throne.

Also visually arresting is the costuming, which sets Richard and his allies apart from their victims. He and his main partner in crime, the Lady Buckingham (Wiess College senior Haley Richardson), are clad in modern formal attire, in contrast to the traditional period costume of most of the other cast members. Unfortunately, this clever idea is not always executed well with more minor characters, whose fashions are also dictated by their loyalties. One rather sadistic female executioner dresses like a cheap prostitute.

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The lead actors are uniformly superb and clearly veterans of the Shakespearean tradition. As Richard, Lockett is mesmerizing, bringing intensity to his frequent speeches and creepy charm to the moments when he manipulates those around him. His useless right arm and limping gait appear startlingly real.

Richardson excels as the king's ingratiating underling. She gives her character depth and pathos, making Buckingham's transformation over the course of the play just as fascinating as Richard's. The reigning Queen Elizabeth (Baker senior Michelle Moller) is one of the few characters to stand up to Richard's deadly devices, and she does so with ferocity that rivals his.

Equally gripping in their roles are two of Richard's victims, his own brother George (Cameron Cooper, Brown '02) and King Edward IV (Brown senior Bryce Eakin), whom Richard III usurps. Cooper and Eakin join a cast laden with alumni - and also the occasional Rice employee. As the Marquess of Dorset, Housing and Dining employee Andrew Collins is one of Richard's most innocent victims, and Fondren librarian Alice Rhoades terrifies both actors and audience in her impassioned speeches as the powerless former Queen who understands Richard's evil plans before anyone else.

The production's few problems are trivial. Some of the smaller roles suffer from shaky acting, and the battle music in the final scenes tries to imitate a war movie soundtrack, but these criticisms are basically irrelevant. BakerShake's production of Richard III is a gripping experience, and Lockett, Mulvaney and the rest of the cast have done themselves proud.

In fact, the performance is so taut and dramatic that viewers may be disappointed by the ending. After the final battle scene, Richard III's triumphant foe takes a moment to deliver a speech on the evils of Richard's regime. Even after watching the evil king order the deaths of a dozen people, the audience might suspect that Shakespeare has been exaggerating Richard's actual cruelty. One interpretation of this thought-provoking performance is that the Bard was cleverly illustrating a famous old adage: History is written by the victors.

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