Wednesday, August 24, 2016

Shakespeare's Richard III

It's that time of year again.  Once again Montana's Shakespeare in the Park traveling show stopped in Kalispell.  This year the play was: Richard III. A drama.

I have been losing my enthusiasm for Shakespeare's plays but since this was such a famous play - and one I was not familiar with - I decided to go.   Donna came with me.

This year we arrived early in order to get a good and closer location in which to set up our lawn chairs.  We arrived 25 minutes before the play started and already the lawn was full of people.  What???!!  I hate to say it, but next year I will have to show up even earlier.   I ended up sitting behind a big guy who did not slouch in his chair.  And occasionally he would adjust his hat further blocking my view.  I had to watch the play on one or the other side of him depending on where the action was on the stage.

The play was good.  Maybe the program booklet's synopsis helped but the play was fairly easy to follow along.  Since some action usually occurs off stage in Shakespeare's plays sometimes I lose track of some goofy named or minor character who dies off stage.

Having such a strong villain helped the audience engage with the play.  And the company's actors did a very good job with the play.  The play was two hours long and the time passed quickly.

Richard III

Richard III proposing to the wife of the man he just had killed.

Richard III plotting a scheme to get the public to ask him to become King.

The public asking Richard III to become King.

Richard III accepting the offer to be King.

After Richard III killed his wife, he is asking this woman to convince her daughter to marry him after Richard III had her husband and sons killed.

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