Over the summer, many theaters all around the world produced a version of Richard III, Shakespeare’s most famous play. The three most famous Shakespeare companies each took a different approach to who would play the scheming title character, Richard III, who is disabled. The differences highlight how there are now more opportunities given to actors from long ignored backgrounds.
In Stratford-upon-Avon, England, the Royal Shakespeare Company cast Richard III as Arthur Hughes. Hughes, who is not a hunchback, has radial dysplasia, which means he has a shorter right arm and a missing thumb. The move was hailed by critics as the company’s first time casting a disabled person as Richard III.
Across the pond in Ontario, Canada, The Stratford Festival decided to cast Colm Feore as Richard. This Richard is not a hunchback but does have a deformed spine.
In NYC, the Public Theater’s Free Shakespeare decided to move in yet another direction: the company cast Danai Gurira, a Black woman who does not have a disability at all, as the duke who eventually kills his way to the crown.
This is just one example of the collective moving away from stereotyped portrayals of characters and giving a platform to the long underrepresented. Many people are exalted to learn that more opportunities are being given to actors from a diverse array of backgrounds. Arthur Hughes, the disabled actor who plays Richard, said to BBC that “Richard is one of the most famous disabled characters … To be playing him on one of the largest Shakespeare stages in the world and to be a disabled man doing it – it’s an honour [sic]. It’s also a good sign of where we’re moving towards.”
However, others worry that the current insistence on “authenticity,” or using disabled actors to play disabled characters, may limit the freedom of choosing who can play a part. They claim that acting is the art of pretending to be someone you are not. F. Murray Abraham, an Oscar winner, said: “the essential nature of art is freedom… once we impose any kind of control over it, it’s no longer free.”
Meanwhile, a professor of English at Arizona State University, Dr. Thompson, says that “authenticity” is a vital aspect of acting. “All of our bodies carry meaning on stage, whether we want to acknowledge that. And that’s going to affect storytelling.”
In Stratford-upon-Avon, England, the Royal Shakespeare Company cast Richard III as Arthur Hughes. Hughes, who is not a hunchback, has radial dysplasia, which means he has a shorter right arm and a missing thumb. The move was hailed by critics as the company’s first time casting a disabled person as Richard III.
Across the pond in Ontario, Canada, The Stratford Festival decided to cast Colm Feore as Richard. This Richard is not a hunchback but does have a deformed spine.
In NYC, the Public Theater’s Free Shakespeare decided to move in yet another direction: the company cast Danai Gurira, a Black woman who does not have a disability at all, as the duke who eventually kills his way to the crown.
This is just one example of the collective moving away from stereotyped portrayals of characters and giving a platform to the long underrepresented. Many people are exalted to learn that more opportunities are being given to actors from a diverse array of backgrounds. Arthur Hughes, the disabled actor who plays Richard, said to BBC that “Richard is one of the most famous disabled characters … To be playing him on one of the largest Shakespeare stages in the world and to be a disabled man doing it – it’s an honour [sic]. It’s also a good sign of where we’re moving towards.”
However, others worry that the current insistence on “authenticity,” or using disabled actors to play disabled characters, may limit the freedom of choosing who can play a part. They claim that acting is the art of pretending to be someone you are not. F. Murray Abraham, an Oscar winner, said: “the essential nature of art is freedom… once we impose any kind of control over it, it’s no longer free.”
Meanwhile, a professor of English at Arizona State University, Dr. Thompson, says that “authenticity” is a vital aspect of acting. “All of our bodies carry meaning on stage, whether we want to acknowledge that. And that’s going to affect storytelling.”
