We
first see Richard starkly lit, by the powerful descending bulb that will
signify the death of his victims throughout the play. It shines on his greasy
head, which is in the same style as his supporters’ hair. His shadow is thrown
against the wall, so that he becomes the shade of some monstrous Nosferatu.
Perhaps one could see Richard as a vampire; he can certainly turn on the
seductive charm when he wants to do so, and his enemies do carry
crucifixes on them. Even though he is heralded by militaristic drums,
there is yet a querulous clarinet, which Sam Mendes employs to emphasize
Richard's facetiousness. Ciaran Hinds plays him as a very slimy man, and this
is where much of his humour comes from. Ciaran Hinds got a laugh when he
said: ”Was ever woman in this humour wooed?” * (1.2.227). Few women indeed can
have claimed to have been wooed next to a corpse, a royal one at that. Richard,
you feel, is the only man who could ever have gotten away with that, let alone
dared to do it.
The audience laughs again at the iconic sound of dogs barking, for they
know Richard is about - “dogs bark at me as I halt by them” (1.1.23) - were
words he used to describe himself in his induction, and Ciaran Hinds entered
the scene looking very flustered, as if he had just been chased by a pack of
dogs. When Margaret proclaims her curse, Richard tries to scuttle away like a
spider, but is halted by the old queen. “Who? Me?” was the innocent expression
on Ciaran Hinds’ face. Solemnly, he walked into the circle of dust, willingly
taking the curse upon himself; but just before the end, he cheekily cried
“Margaret!”, effectively destroying the gravity of the situation. No one else
in the play is able to make a fool out of her. Indeed,
* All
quotations from The New Penguin Richard III, edited by E.A.Honigmann.
2
one
of the resounding echoes of the play is the ghostly intonation of
Margaret’s curse before anybody dies. To get what he wants, Richard puts on
different characters, which Ciaran Hinds was directed to play as comedy,
whether he be penitent suitor, welcoming uncle, or the humble holy man, who
does not want to be king really.
The plot takes over in the last two acts, so there is not much
comedy. Richard’s wit was only really successful when other characters
thought him innocent. Now Sam Mendes shows that Richard is forced to
resort to violence; for example, when he smashes a table during his final
interview with Queen Elizabeth. Before this, Sam Mendes had suggested Richard's
hidden violence jokily, especially when directing Ciaran Hinds to
emphasize Richard’s dislike of Rivers by raising his cane as if to ‘thwack’ him
(1.3.322). Subtle indeed was Sam Mendes' direction for Richard to symbolically
fall, before Buckingham literally gives him a helping hand to the throne.
The actor who plays Buckingham plays a difficult role, for, as Richard’s
fellow conspirator, he has to be associated with all of his evil, and then
suddenly betray his master. With his greased back hair, trench coat, and Doc
Marten boots, Buckingham certainly wore Richard’s uniform. Yet his trench coat
was the most elegant - there was some individuality about this follower.
Indeed, this could be because he was a relative newcomer to the court, who
seemingly had played no part in the previous bloody war. He is the only one
Margaret greets warmly: ”O princely Buckingham, I’ll kiss thy hand/In sign of
league and amity with thee” (1.3.279—280). Yet still he rebukes her and Stephen
Boxer was quite clear in saying “Nothing I respect, my gracious lord”
(1.3.295). Most noticeable too was Buckingham’s condemnation of Rutland’s
murder. Sam Mendes was also able to convey the complexities of the role, and
Stephen Boxer was directed to speak one of the few lines that are not cynical
and world weary with great integrity: ”So cunning, and so young, is wonderful”
(3.1.135). At all Prince Edward’s questions about the Tower,Sam Mendes directed
Ciaran Hinds to groan and turn away, leaving Buckingham to answer eagerly and
genuinely.
However, Sam Mendes got Stephen Boxer to shout very loudly when seeking
to deny York sanctuary: ”The prince hath neither claimed it nor deserved
it,/And therefore, in mine opinion, cannot have it” (3.1.51—52). This anger is
directed against Bourchier though. If Buckingham does have a fault, then it is his
ambition, which leads him to do unscrupulous things and not be too choosy about
who he follows. Sam Mendes gets Boxer to shout again “Made I him king for
this?” (4.2.119) - after Richard has refused him his promised lands. It would
seem to be this, rather than the murder of the princes, that makes him betray
Richard. However, Sam Mendes shows that he only begins to have doubts about the
whole scheme when Richard talks of infanticide, Margaret’s crime.
There is only one role in Sam Mendes' production that is not too
convincing, and that is Lady Anne. Perhaps it is the role itself that is at
fault. We do not know how much Shakespeare believed in the propaganda of
Richard’s deformity; just as much as Richard marvels at Anne finding him
attractive (1.2.246), then so must have Shakespeare. Some critics have argued
that Richard overwhelms her with the eloquence of his words, but Annabelle
Apsion was not reduced to a blushing wreck. No, Sam Mendes directed her to be
she more sparring with Richard. It could be that such a match would be to her
advantage - not even she is devoid of ambition (is anyone devoid of ambition in
Sam Mendes' production?). Or she may well be a ‘wanton’ woman, who is somehow
sexually fascinated by Richard. Sam Mendes suggested this most strongly in the
Richard’s last dream, where Lady Anne was seen sitting on the lap of one of the
male ghosts (Buckingham?) with a goblet of wine. She did not wear black, but
only grey, as if she were only half mourning. The material seemed to be lycra,
or some other figure-hugging fibre. Yet Sam Mendes did give some quiet dignity
to Lady Anne's role: one cannot help but pity her as Richard orders the
dissemination of the news of Anne’s death as she sits passively by him on the
throne, as if she were already dead.
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