Shakespeare’s Richard III has long been a figure of interest, inspiring many interpretations and parodies. The lead role has been tackled by famous actors from Laurence Olivier to Denzel Washington, with Black Panther star Danai Gurira the latest high-profile figure to take the role on the New York stage. However, for the first time in 61 years, the Royal Shakespeare
Company has cast a disabled actor as the lead in the play. Richard, whose arm is disabled, is one of literature’s most famous characters but has only rarely been played by disabled actors.
The lead actor, Arthur Hughes, is best known for his contributions to The Archers and Netflix series The Innocents. Hughes was born with radial dysplasia, which disables his right arm, making him a “perfect match” to Richard. “Richard is one of the most famous disabled characters in the English-speaking world,” Hughes said. “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 honor. It’s also a good sign of where we’re moving towards.”
This brings up a mind-boggling question: If Richard is presumably disabled, does it justify casting non-disabled actors for his part? Dr. Hailey Bachrach, a Shakespeare academic at the University of Roehampton, says that “for generations, leading men like [18th-Century actor] David Garrick performed Richard without any sign of disability at all. There’s a troublingly recent history of actors putting on the types of prosthetics and mimicry that we have long since recognized as wholly inappropriate… [and] yet [we] continue to collectively accept when it comes to the performance of disability.”
To Hughes, a disabled actor should play Richard as their representation of the character is the most authentic. “Richard is written as disabled, so let’s give disabled actors this rich character. Every disability, every disabled actor, will bring something unexpected and new, a different depth that you just won’t get from a non-disabled actor.”
Link:https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20220718-why-shakespeares-richard-iii-became-a-controversial-villain#:~:text=Ben%20Spiller%2C%20artistic%20director%20of,at%20the%20hands%20of%20a
Company has cast a disabled actor as the lead in the play. Richard, whose arm is disabled, is one of literature’s most famous characters but has only rarely been played by disabled actors.
The lead actor, Arthur Hughes, is best known for his contributions to The Archers and Netflix series The Innocents. Hughes was born with radial dysplasia, which disables his right arm, making him a “perfect match” to Richard. “Richard is one of the most famous disabled characters in the English-speaking world,” Hughes said. “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 honor. It’s also a good sign of where we’re moving towards.”
This brings up a mind-boggling question: If Richard is presumably disabled, does it justify casting non-disabled actors for his part? Dr. Hailey Bachrach, a Shakespeare academic at the University of Roehampton, says that “for generations, leading men like [18th-Century actor] David Garrick performed Richard without any sign of disability at all. There’s a troublingly recent history of actors putting on the types of prosthetics and mimicry that we have long since recognized as wholly inappropriate… [and] yet [we] continue to collectively accept when it comes to the performance of disability.”
To Hughes, a disabled actor should play Richard as their representation of the character is the most authentic. “Richard is written as disabled, so let’s give disabled actors this rich character. Every disability, every disabled actor, will bring something unexpected and new, a different depth that you just won’t get from a non-disabled actor.”
Link:https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20220718-why-shakespeares-richard-iii-became-a-controversial-villain#:~:text=Ben%20Spiller%2C%20artistic%20director%20of,at%20the%20hands%20of%20a
