Ricardo III
37th Production
Premiere: 17/11/2006

ACTA - Ricardo III ACTA - Ricardo III ACTA - Ricardo III

Tour: Portimão, Tavira, Lagoa, Albufeira, Loulé, Lagos, Aveiro, Torres Novas, Lisboa, Vila Real de Sto. António, Almada, Faro, Bruxelas (Bélgica)

Richard, Duke of Gloucester, is determined to be king. To accomplish this he begins by killing King Henry VI and his son, Edward. After that he convinces his brother Edward, now King Edward IV that their brother, Clarence, conspires against him. Clarence is imprisoned in the Tower of London where is killed by Richard’s hired assassins. Richard, meanwhile, courts Anne, the widow of his brother Edward whom he murdered, and marries her. He then gives the news of Clarence’s death to the sick Edward IV, who dies either by remorse or at the very hands of Richard. In the line of succession to the throne are two boys, Edward IV sons, and Richard's nephews. With Buckingham’s complicity the boys are imprisoned and then murdered. Anne is also murdered by Richard because he decides he would be best married to the young daughter of Edward IV (whom he murdered). Amidst riots and conspiracies, Buckingham claims the possessions which had been promised to him by Richard in exchange for helping Richard to get the throne. Richard refuses his plead. Buckingham revolts...
Above all, what interests us the most in Shakespeare's text are the aspects of modernity we find in the conduct and governance of this monarch who reigned over England in the fifteenth century, and more precisely his relationship with Power. Therein lays the timeliness of the topic and, consequently, the reading we make of it.
Richard III will therefore be an inevitably and undeniably political show.

Press highlight

‘The Portuguese community gave a standing ovation, for a considerable amount of time, to the show presented in the Jack Frank Centre. (…) Richard the Third of England, “the porcupine” or the permanent struggle for power by ACTA in Brussels, marking the beginning of the Portuguese presidency of the European Union.’
Ana Cristina Pereira, Público, 08/07/07

‘ACTA was in Lisbon with its amazing Richard the Third, and I was speechless, as it was one of the best moments of Theatre I have ever witnessed in the Capital, for many years, and I say this without any favours and that classical dissimulation effect I am not capable of.’
Carlos Albino, Jornal do Algarve, 08/03/07

‘Yes, this Richard the Third, put on stage by ACTA, is a contemporary approach, and not the historical play by Shakespeare. From the wardrobe to the sliding of war images (Iraq, Palestine …). The stage direction catches the audience. Last night I took part in the plot that put Richard the Third on the throne.’
Maria do Rosário Fasolilha, Divas&Contrabaixos, 03/07