Three Shakespeare companies in the world have staged “Richard III” this summer. The casting of Richard by the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Stratford Festival, and Public Theater’s Free Shakespeare have brought intense debate to light over the portrayal of disabilities.
William Shakespeare wrote this famous play. A jealous and crippled man named Richard of Gloucester wants to become King of England. Richard uses manipulation and deceit to achieve his goal. He murders his brothers, nephews, and any opposition to become King Richard III. In the end, Henry of Richmond raises an army, kills Richard in battle, and becomes King Henry VII. Shakespeare depicted the king as a scheming hunchback who murdered his way to the British throne, describing him as a “deformed, unfinish’d” figure. This character has been portrayed in many different ways.
At the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon, England, actor Arthur Hughes, who has radial dysplasia, played Richard. Radial dysplasia causes him to have a shorter right arm, a bent wrist, and a thumbless hand. It was the first time a disabled actor played the role. The casting was hailed as a great advance in British theater.
Hughes said that,“When Richard is played by actors who are able bodied, there’s an issue of how to portray the disability, how to wear this costume. With me, when I walk out on stage, it’s completely apparent that I have a disability. I can’t hide that. There’s a truth to it immediately, before I’ve even opened my mouth.” He also added that “It’s not to say [able bodied] people can never play these parts. But I think it’s time that we had that lived experience shown properly.”
The Stratford Festival in Ontario, Canada took a different approach. They cast the able-bodied actor Colm Feore to play a version of Richard with a deformed spine but no hunchback. They relied on the idea that his physique “was less of a medical disability than a social and cultural one,” the company’s spokeswoman, Ann Swerdfager, said in an email.
And The Public Theater’s Free Shakespeare in New York, did something completely different. They chose Danai Gurira, a Black woman, to play the duke who schemes and kills his way to the throne of England. Gurira tries to explore the reasons behind Richards’s actions. “There is a psychological reason for what he becomes,” she said in an interview. “He’s looking at the rules in front of him, and he feels he’s most capable, but the rules disallow him from manifesting his full capability.”
Casting characters often faces complications, and Richard III is an example. In the current moment, many theaters are taking inovative approaches to the portrayal of characters, approaches that have never before been considered by such large and respected theatres.
Links:
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/24/theater/richard-iii-disabled-arthur-hughes.html, https://s3.amazonaws.com/appforest_uf/f1659266956182x391547630908779500/Who%20Can%20Play%20the%20King_%20Questions%20of%20Representation%20Fuel%20Casting%20Debates.%20-%20The%20New%20York%20Times.pdf, https://howlround.com/cripping-crip-it-time-reclaim-richard-iii, https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2022/feb/08/theres-a-truth-to-it-rsc-casts-disabled-actor-as-richard-iii
William Shakespeare wrote this famous play. A jealous and crippled man named Richard of Gloucester wants to become King of England. Richard uses manipulation and deceit to achieve his goal. He murders his brothers, nephews, and any opposition to become King Richard III. In the end, Henry of Richmond raises an army, kills Richard in battle, and becomes King Henry VII. Shakespeare depicted the king as a scheming hunchback who murdered his way to the British throne, describing him as a “deformed, unfinish’d” figure. This character has been portrayed in many different ways.
At the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon, England, actor Arthur Hughes, who has radial dysplasia, played Richard. Radial dysplasia causes him to have a shorter right arm, a bent wrist, and a thumbless hand. It was the first time a disabled actor played the role. The casting was hailed as a great advance in British theater.
Hughes said that,“When Richard is played by actors who are able bodied, there’s an issue of how to portray the disability, how to wear this costume. With me, when I walk out on stage, it’s completely apparent that I have a disability. I can’t hide that. There’s a truth to it immediately, before I’ve even opened my mouth.” He also added that “It’s not to say [able bodied] people can never play these parts. But I think it’s time that we had that lived experience shown properly.”
The Stratford Festival in Ontario, Canada took a different approach. They cast the able-bodied actor Colm Feore to play a version of Richard with a deformed spine but no hunchback. They relied on the idea that his physique “was less of a medical disability than a social and cultural one,” the company’s spokeswoman, Ann Swerdfager, said in an email.
And The Public Theater’s Free Shakespeare in New York, did something completely different. They chose Danai Gurira, a Black woman, to play the duke who schemes and kills his way to the throne of England. Gurira tries to explore the reasons behind Richards’s actions. “There is a psychological reason for what he becomes,” she said in an interview. “He’s looking at the rules in front of him, and he feels he’s most capable, but the rules disallow him from manifesting his full capability.”
Casting characters often faces complications, and Richard III is an example. In the current moment, many theaters are taking inovative approaches to the portrayal of characters, approaches that have never before been considered by such large and respected theatres.
Links:
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/24/theater/richard-iii-disabled-arthur-hughes.html, https://s3.amazonaws.com/appforest_uf/f1659266956182x391547630908779500/Who%20Can%20Play%20the%20King_%20Questions%20of%20Representation%20Fuel%20Casting%20Debates.%20-%20The%20New%20York%20Times.pdf, https://howlround.com/cripping-crip-it-time-reclaim-richard-iii, https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2022/feb/08/theres-a-truth-to-it-rsc-casts-disabled-actor-as-richard-iii