Richard III - Adjoa Andoh - Liverpool / Kingston

Reading the article it sounds interesting, but it also feels like the framing / directing of the play is specifically going to be based around her personal childhood experiences and why she as a person related to Richard III (rather than just bringing her interpretation to the way she plays the character). It feels more like a personal way of addressing her childhood issues

Although idk how to feel about a non-disabled person playing Richard III, because of all the recent discussions that has been had about able-bodied people playing disabled roles (and changing it up to have people like Peter Dinklage playing Cyrano de Bergerac). I suppose her interpretation is likening the othering of non-white bodies as being like they’re not the same as able-bodied white people - but that’s probably a bit of a loaded debate…

Greg Doran told us that no able-bodied actor should ever play R-III again. Several people here agreed with him (I didn't), interested to hear their views on this one.

It's an interesting take. Plays into the 'not all disabilities are visible' aspect in a way. Sometimes with the physical comes the mental debilitation and vice versa. Perhaps no-one abled differently auditioned or impressed in the casting stages. Perhaps a physical affliction would distract from the intended focus.

If this is precisely what he said, then very odd. It means that only able bodies etc actors can play most of the repertoire in classic and modern drama. It is a division of the worst kind. 

A few thoughts from Thursday's opening night at the Liverpool Playhouse. I haven't seen any other productions of the play prior to my visit so I can't really make any comparisons to other productions. In this production from Adjoa Andoh, the play is set in the west country region with the cast having those regional accents. The set consists of a few trees and a few coloured panels to depict a forest setting. Though at the final battle scene there is a tent used for both sides as a HQ.

Adjoa's presentation of Richard is more of a mental decline of the character than any making reference a physical disability. For me she came across really well in bringing both the tragedy and dry humour of the text. There is a mix of both music and what I can only describe as Morris dancing to bring the final battle scene to life. The folk feel to the production is further represented by the presentation of the ghosts at the end as traditional "Jack in the Green" costumes. Much of the violence is done in silhouette behind the panels. One of the York princes is represented as a puppet with cast members speaking the lines.

One issue we had on the night was the indisposition of the male actor playing Hastings. Instead, we had a young female stand in who did a great job as emergency cover. Though both the audience and cast members did have a wry smile on the faces when a dummy head of a decapitated older grey-haired man with a beard was brough out in Act 2.

Despite a run time of just over 3hrs on the night (the hard seats of the Playhouse really aren't great for such a long running time), it was certainly an engaging play and worth the watch.