2003-2004 Season

Directed by Eve Shapiro

	Cedric Hayman, Spencer Aste, and Bryan Cogman in Richard III.. Photo by Richard Termine for The Acting Company.

In Shakespeare’s tragedy of plotting and betrayal, the villainous Duke of Gloucester stops at nothing to win the crown of England. Richard’s lust for power leads to unspeakable acts in a brilliant rendering of political intrigue, family relationships and ambition.

The curtain rises on Richard’s solitary, misshapen figure. He is hunchbacked and limps; a withered arm dangles by his side as he slowly drags himself up and utters the astonishing soliloquy, “Now is the winter of our discontent…”

Behind a smiling mask, Richard confides his strategy thereby making us his accomplices. Richard’s world is a vast chessboard: four jumps and the throne will be his. All he must do is remove the obstacles – his brother, King Edward; the Duke of Clarence; his nephews, the two young princes.

One of history’s most enigmatic characters, King Richard manipulated his way to the English throne by exploiting—or murdering—everyone in his path. Shakespeare’s masterpiece completes the historical and spellbinding tale of England’s bloody Wars of the Roses, the triumphs—and failures—of kings.

The Acting Company’s spectacular production will be directed by Juilliard Master Director Eve Shapiro, where she has been a faculty member since 1976. Ms. Shapiro was a director and teacher at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, London and Associate Director of York Theatre Royal.
 

Eve Shapiro was born in South Africa, and has been on the faculty of the Juilliard School since 1976, where she has directed such plays as The Three Sisters, Mother Courage, Guys and Dolls, Man and Superman, Hedda Gabler, Lady from the Sea, among many others.. She was a director and teacher at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, London, and Associate Director of York Theatre Royal.  Other theatres and schools include Leeds Playhouse, British Drama Centre, Bournemouth Repertory Company, Webber Douglas School, and others in England, America, South Africa and Switzerland.